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The Post-War Housing Shortage

The 1940′s Housing Boom}

Sometimes described in the post WWII years as `the housing shortage’, the national effort to fix a very serious issue has in time come to be called `the housing boom’. Without a doubt it was a boom in demand and activity. There was also a marked increase in house ownership, achieved in many cases through dogged individual effort and years of sacrifice.

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

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

To keep both labourer and tradesman productively employed the builder needed a continuous flow of materials which was a rare thing during this period. Lack 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 rates to ensure house completion.

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

With local cement taking forever to turn up, a batch from across the border was sometimes contracted at nearly three times the price. When compared to 1939 prices hardwood flooring 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 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 dwelling 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 plan was essential; cost-saving and limitations on area made large single-purpose rooms a luxury. Verandahs and generous porches were deleted, reducing the shade 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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