The Post-War Housing Boom

Often described in the post-war years as `the housing shortage’, the nationwide effort to fix a very troubling issue has in time come to be called `the housing boom’. Undoubtedly it was a boom in demand and building. There was also a marked increase in house ownership, achieved in many cases through heroic individual effort and years of sacrifice.

Changing social conditions offered new opportunities, but also narrowed the options. Emphasis in government housing plans was at first on rental dwellings; later there was a swing toward the sale of affordable dwellings. At a time when various influencers had cut the availability of rental homes, governments, banks, finance companies, building societies and housing co-operatives were offering greater opportunities for home ownership. Ironically this was at a time of a jump in construction costs.

High on the list of factors linked to rising construction costs were the passing of legislation for the 40-hour week, and drastic increases in the cost of construction materials. By 1948 an employer had to pay an unskilled building labourer a higher salary than a tradie had received in early 1946.

To keep both labourer and tradie economically employed the builder needed a continuous flow of materials which was a rare event during this period. A shortage of skilled workers also meant poor quality work and a blow out in construction time.

Contract prices were loaded with an increasing profit margin as an insurance against unseen contingencies. Under commonwealth price control, builders were entitled to a 10 per cent `profit’ on the contract price. Above award payments were not recognised in price control and yet builders often found a need to pay above award wages to ensure house completion.

Unexpected costs could arise when, for example, hardwood flooring was suddenly unobtainable, and a higher price would then have to be paid for imported timber for flooring.

With locally made cement taking forever to turn up, a batch from interstate was sometimes contracted at nearly three times the price. When compared to 1939 prices timber flooring material had, by 1948, increased 100 per cent in value. Cement had risen by almost 20 per cent and clay roofing tiles by more than 25 per cent. A gallon of first-grade paint costing around 30s ($3) in 1939 had risen by 40 per cent by 1948.

When added to rising costs and shortages of materials the government restrictions, limiting the area of a new home to 1200 square feet (111.48 square metres) for a timber house and 1250 square feet (116.12 square metres) for one in brick, completed the recipe for an imposed cost-cutting.

The economical floor plan was essential; cost-saving and limitations on area made large single-purpose rooms a luxury. Verandahs and spacious porches were deleted, reducing the shelter at the front entrance to a minimum area. Ceiling heights had been slowly reduced from the turn of the century and were now typically nine feet (2745 mm). Until the government construction restrictions were lifted in 1952 the acceptance of no-nonsense functionalism was as much an imposed state as it was a fashionable philosophy. This was the era of the great Australian Dream.

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