THE era of the “cashed-up tradie” is alive and well with a new report revealing how skyrocketing house prices and a resulting renovation revolution has pushed the pay packets of the state’s high-vis workforce up 9 per cent in the last quarter.
The new report on labour prices had plumbers keeping their position as the most expensive trade to hire, charging on average $78.84 an hour, ahead of electricians who charged an average $75.43.
But landscapers were the biggest movers in the market, enjoying a 14.2 per cent increase on the previous financial quarter, according to the report by trade directory serviceseeking.com.au.
Landscapers pulled in an average $70.46 an hour as part of a trades surge fuelled by rising home prices and the lack of new stock.
Hundreds of property owners are choosing to improve their current investment instead of selling up and buying anew, according to both the authors of the report and Andrew Sidie, director of eastern suburbs landscaping firm Stone Lotus.
“It’s definitely hot, I’ve never seen it this busy before,” Mr Sidie said.
“A lot people have seen the value of their home go from $2 million to $3 million so they don’t mind spending $50,000 or $100,000 on landscaping.
“They’re choosing renovations instead of moving out as there’s just not much (housing) stock at the moment.”
Sydney’s median house price hit $895,000 in the last quarter and the number of properties listed for sale simultaneously shrunk to 13,577 — that’s a 13.9 per cent drop from a year ago — according to figures from CoreLogic.
Sydney now has fewer listings than Brisbane, with 17,358, and Perth’s 20,056.
Despite the pain for home hunters, Stone Lotus landscaper Jamie Ralph welcomed the amount of work he was getting, while noting that “it’s getting busier”.
“People are going for the whole makeover — pools, gardens, retaining walls — rather than selling,” Mr Ralph said.
“Particularly these days, I think a lot of people spend more time outside.”
The news on wages is not as rosy for carpenters, who became the only trade to record a reduced hourly rate — of 1.8 per cent — since the first quarter of 2016-17 to the second quarter of 2016-17.
In fact, chippies went on to record a massive 18.5 per cent drop in their hourly wage since that of last year. Their average rate now sits at $56.37.
Australia-wide, the average hourly rate for a tradie rose to $66.18 over the past year.
Originally Published: http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/