The cities across Australia, housing construction in Perth is dominated by ‘double brick’ construction. A cost-benefit model was developed to estimate both financial and economic cost differences between modern construction methods and traditional brick builds. Financial costs were considered to be the direct cost of construction, whilst economic costs included the wider costs to society and new home buyer. Four scenarios were modelled in order to ascertain the relative merits of the different construction methods, under different site conditions.

The modelling found that in the current market, financial costs for structural frame with cladding were higher than double brick, however these costs were offset by economic savings. construction costs for traditional builds are evolving and likely to increase. The construction labor force is shifting, with the number of brick layers diminishing whilst carpentry is becoming a more popular trade.

The Western Australian home building industry is predominantly characterised by double brick construction. The dominance of this construction methodology is unique to Perth, with other capitals and states across Australia, as well as international cities, more commonly using alternative or lightweight construction methods. Given this dominance, UDIA identified a need to undertake research examining the ‘cost and benefits’ of modern methods of construction comparative to double brick construction. As a result, UDIA, together with a small group of developers, commissioned EY (Ernst and Young) to undertake a cost benefit analysis of modern methods of construction in WA.