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Construction

Today

New wind farm projects have slowed due to soaring costs.

Clean energy rebound masks wind ‘disaster’

Clean energy capacity added into the grid doubled last year, but analysts say the figures mask stalled wind-farm construction amid soaring costs.

Evan Thornley, CEO of investment company Longview Evan outside a house that he says is rising in value and will keep rising.

The fastest-growing house prices aren’t where you think

Leafy suburbs closest to the CBD aren’t the ones that offer the biggest value gain. As home-building picks up, there are some suburbs worth considering.

This Month

A render image of the site (left), which has received development approval to be a 46-storey residential tower.

High-profile Gold Coast project up for sale after HMC foreclosure

The owner lost control of the site, which is approved for a 46-storey residential tower, after owning it for just seven months.

Expanding their reach: From left, Nex Building Group CEO Andrew Helmers, Nex director and chief strategy officer Koji Naganawa and Nex Property general manager Nadim Akari.

Asahi Kasei-owned builder NEX expands into land development

The move shows a deeper investment by the company that bought into then-named McDonald Jones Homes in 2017.

Multi-storey insolvency: Contractor RobertsCo was building Amazon’s four–level warehouse in northern Melbourne’s Craigieburn when it fell into administration.

Insolvencies surge in construction and hospitality sectors

Although the figures reflect the pain felt by many businesses, they also show that a growing number of small companies are taking steps to trade out of trouble.

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Johns Lyng specialises in building services including insurance work, project management, and strata management.

Johns Lyng agrees to $1.3b takeover bid from private equity suitor

The building services giant had seen its share price slump from highs of more than $9 to less than $4 prior to the buyout discussions with Pacific Equity Partners.

Brisbane is now the most expensive city to build in Australia.

The most expensive city for building is getting pricier

Brisbane’s big infrastructure program is putting pressure on construction costs. It will only get worse as the state prepares for the 2032 Olympics.

Caitlin and Adam Webster are living with relatives while they wait for their home to be ready.

This couple has waited years for a basic service to their dream home

Caitlin and Adam Webster bought their Sydney plot in 2021, but the water’s not connected yet. Critics say the lag in critical infrastructure is holding up housing supply.

Beating new home-leader Victoria: NSW chalked up 24,000 new attached home approvals in the 12 months to May.

NSW apartment approvals boom as housing policies shift the dial

Policy changes as well as lower borrowing costs are driving a development upturn that is only just starting.

The proposed VNI West transmission project is opposed by many landholders and local communities.

Key Victorian transmission line hit by two-year delay

The postponement of the start-up of the $3.3 billion VNI West project until late 2030 is expected to stoke fresh concerns about future power reliability.

Andrew Roberts paves way for exit from construction with $20m deal

The former Rich Lister will step away from the construction business, which has witnessed the collapse of many builders in recent years.

June

Lou Weis, co owner of 124 Exhibition St oversaw the renovation of a tired 1971, 11 storey office tower in central Mlebourne.

How to spend $10m retrofitting a D-grade office building

Australia’s commercial property industry lacks the skills to upgrade its existing building stock for changing times, one office tower owner says.

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ASIC in legal action against three Sanjeev Gupta companies

Australia’s corporate regulator has the British industrialist in its sights, with a Tasmanian smelter failing to lodge accounts for four years running.

Cheap US mortgages are weighing on the American housing sector.

ASX darling’s bizarre housing problem: Too many cheap US mortgages

Plumbing materials supplier Reece has been belted by a slowdown in the US residential construction market, compounded by a glut of cheap, COVID-era home loans.

The Whyalla steelworks was forced into administration in February.

Whyalla steelworks sale draws strong offshore interest, says premier

Strong state backing is helping to attract interest in the Whyalla plant, with BlueScope seen by many as the front-runner.

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Michele Adair, managing director of Housing Trust.

‘Frustration, desperation, fear’ over delays in $10b housing fund

The strength of the federal government’s Housing Australia Future Fund is also its greatest weakness. Developers say it needs to change.

The High Court challenge is estimated to have cost more than $800,000.

High Court ruling on CFMEU a ‘line in the sand’ moment for cleanout

The CFMEU administrator has declared the High Court backing of the administration will make way for systemic industry reforms.

(From left) Ari Bergman, Paul and Rob Lederer and Mark Schwarz at the office of 3 Capital in Sydney.

Billionaire Lederer family go big in private credit as loans hit $200m

A decade after selling their Primo smallgoods empire to Brazil’s JBS, the family is building a new business and extending loans to property developers.

Mirvac’s Heritage Lanes building and precinct in Brisbane was the world’s first to receive a 6 Star Green Star Buildings rating in 2023.

Getting ahead of the curve to pull building industry higher

The Green Building Council of Australia has won the Sustainability Leaders award for property and construction for its push to lift building standards.

Gold Coast developer Aniko Group has brought forward construction of its four-tower The Landmark project in Mermaid Beach to reduce the risks of skills shortages that will be worsened by infrastructure projects, including for the 2032 Olympic Games. 

In Queensland, an additional 18,500 building workers won’t be enough

Across the country, governments are trying to balance housing needs of a growing population with infrastructure investment. But Queensland also has the Olympics. 

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