You may have heard on the grapevine that the last 2 years have been a little chaotic for builders in Hervey Bay, Gympie and on the Sunshine Coast. Maybe you’ve experienced a delay to your build that has you wishing for a time machine to fast forward to completion. It’s been an unusual few years that nobody could have anticipated. However with the tide beginning to turn, and the slightest glimmer of normal’ beginning to emerge, we thought it might be useful to head back to where things started to change. As leaders in the building community, we’d love to give you a little more insight into what’s been going on over the last 2 years – both for the home building industry as a whole, and here at Vivid Home Builders specifically.
The early days: COVID-19 and the Building Grants
Back in June 2020, the federal government announced measures to support the home building industry with grants of up to $40,000 being awarded for new home building projects or ‘significant renovations’. While this initially presented as a wonderful initiative creating a steady stream of projects for builders, there were speed bumps on the horizon that not every business anticipated – or could have, for that matter. From skyrocketing costs for essentials to availability of materials, especially timber, lockdowns and trade shortages, every challenge imaginable was being thrown the sector’s way, and it was having a major impact.
Timelines were blowing out, land was becoming difficult to obtain or get titled, and the cost to build was rapidly going up. Despite having been relatively sheltered from COVID-19 itself, builders in Hervey Bay, Gympie and on the Sunshine Coast were feeling the effects of these nationwide challenges to varying degrees.
How Vivid Home Builders navigated 12 months of uncertainty
Here at Vivid Home Builders, we took a broad view from the very beginning and only took on a manageable amount of projects to ensure we didn’t blow out time frames and budgets. We haven’t been completely immune from the external challenges that have affected the building industry for the last 12+ months, but we have managed to navigate them effectively.
We value transparency and timeliness and have approached the challenges of this period with our signature emphasis on clear communication and creative problem solving. Along the way, we have done whatever we can to mitigate industry-wide shortages. Remaining flexible was paramount – when materials became scarce, we were able to proactively find alternatives and effectively problem solve as we went. And of course, we need to acknowledge the enormous efforts of our trusted team of contractors. Despite trying conditions, they have weathered whatever came their way and delivered incredible homes for our very happy customers.
In short, this enormous team effort has yielded positive results for all involved.
6 months from breaking ground to completion
Our uncompromising focus on quality over haste has meant our HomeBuilder Grant projects have now all been completed, and our customers are enjoying their dream homes. As a debt-free builder, we are moving into the next phase of ‘new normal’ with confidence and optimism.
Looking for a home builder in Hervey Bay, Gympie or on the Sunshine Coast? Come down for a tour of our new display home at 61 Spring Way, Nikenbah (Hervey Bay) and talk to the team about your vision.
