The Post-War Housing Boom

The Post-War Housing Shortage}

Often described in the post WWII years as `the housing shortage’, the nationwide effort to address a very serious issue has in time come to be called `the housing boom’. Without a doubt it was a boom in demand and building. There was also a notable increase in home ownership, achieved in many cases through dogged individual effort and years of sacrifice.

Changing social attitudes offered new opportunities, but also narrowed the choices. Emphasis in government housing plans was at first on rental dwellings; later there was a swing toward the ownership of budget houses. At a time when various influencers had cut the availability of rental houses, governments, banks, finance companies, building societies and housing co-operatives were offering a wider range of opportunities for home ownership. Ironically this was paralleled by a rise in building input costs.

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

To keep both labourer and tradesman rationally employed the builder needed a continuous flow of materials which was a rare occurrence during this period. A shortage of skilled workers also meant poor quality building 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 happen when, for example, timber flooring was suddenly unobtainable, and a higher price would then have to be paid for imported flooring material.

With locally made cement taking forever to turn up, a truckload from across the border was sometimes purchased at nearly three times the price. When compared to 1939 prices timber flooring material had, by 1948, doubled in price. Cement had risen by almost 20 per cent and terracotta roofing tiles by more than 25 per cent. A gallon of quality paint costing around 30s ($3) in 1939 had risen some 40 per cent by 1948.

When added to rising costs and shortages of materials the government restrictions, limiting the area of a new house to 12 squares (111.48 square metres) for a timber house and 1250 square feet (116.12 square metres) for a brick house, completed the recipe for an imposed economy.

The economical floor plan was necessary; cost-saving and limitations on area made large single-purpose rooms a luxury. Verandahs and wide open porches were deleted, reducing the shelter at the front entrance to a minimum area. Ceiling heights had been gradually reduced from the turn of the century and were now usually 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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