Town Talk: The housing crisis

The shortage of rentals — and the increasing cost — is not unique to our part of the world; it’s widespread. And as interest rates continue to rise, investors have less interest in adding to their portfolios. However, when hundreds of families apply for available blocks of land, I wonder whether our situation will change, even when things improve elsewhere. Let’s say there are 500 families wanting to build a new home — and sell or rent their existing property. Until they find a good piece of land, they have no option but to stay put — nothing happens. (There is evidence to suggest there are more than 500, but let’s be conservative.)

This situation also affects local builders. And the past three years have been difficult enough — the lockdowns, the absent staff due to COVID-19 itself, the rapidly increasing cost of building supplies, the shortage of land and the slow supply of, for example, electrical goods. (It has been estimated that, in 2021, manufacturers worldwide produced just 10 per cent of their normal output. No wonder it was difficult to buy a stove in 2022!) And then there was a flood!

I wanted to talk to a local builder, who could speak frankly without checking with head office — and one who would trust me enough to tell me their truth. So, I called Cavalier Homes.

I have known the McHugh brothers, Jason and Scott, for about 15 years. I worked in the office next to theirs for some time, and during this busy period, we managed to find plenty of time for chats. I learned about their passion for building — and building well — which, I think, was explained by their family history (there have been generations of builders). After this time, I assisted them with their marketing for a while.

Now, I knew they were fair dinkum, and I wanted a real conversation. After several attempts to find one of them in the office, I finally spoke to Jason and we made an appointment. I asked for 10 minutes of his time; I had questions to ask.

Cavalier Homes Goulburn Valley

Well, I certainly got a real conversation — the 10 minutes stretched to two and a half hours.

Scott joined us, which was good. He doesn’t talk as much as Jason and I. However, it was Scott who first contributed.

“The last three years were the most difficult of all our years in the industry,” he said.

Anticipating what was going to happen, it was necessary to make quick decisions. And, as owners, this was possible. The first step was to buy land, which they did. The second, to anticipate the price rises. Signing people to the current price was simply asking for problems, for all involved.

They explained an increased price to their customers and then, as soon as the situation became clear, they guaranteed the price. This offered reassurance to their clients — they could relax and enjoy the process. Some of their supply issues were solved because of their loyalty to their suppliers.

A major supplier contacted them to say that they would be looked after — they were a loyal and large customer. Loyalty frequently pays benefits, in life and in business. And Cavalier Homes always uses local trades and suppliers, so the money stays around.

Surprisingly — or perhaps not — this difficult time was also a record-breaking sales period.

However, it was far from easy. Many necessary items were still causing delays; homes were still taking 12 months to build. And people, including staff members, were still getting the virus; one day there were four people in offices that accommodate 45.

Today, the build time is down to six months and still improving; however, the shortage of available land remains an ongoing challenge.

Cavalier Homes Australia and New Zealand

Cavalier Homes GV is a franchisee of Cavalier Homes Australia — as it has been for 20 years. However, in the meantime things changed a bit. Together with Dale Paddle (Albury-Wodonga franchisee) they bought the company in 2013.

This part of their story always reminds me of that old ad — I think it was for Remington — where the guy says, “I was so impressed with the product that I bought the company”. Remember it? Or is it only me who remembers good ads?

However, in this case the reasons were different. Support from Brisbane head office had been dwindling of late and the number of franchisees decreasing.

At first it was a lot of extra work and they wondered whether they had done the right thing. They were insistent about bringing building standards, around the country, up to their own — because they remembered everything their father had taught them. It might be about battens in the ceiling or the construction of the frame; whatever, the customers must be happy and the good reputation maintained and justified.

And there was another adjustment for the Goulburn Valley business over this period; once they became franchisor, their local sales really took off. Perhaps it was because they didn’t want to be one of the smaller branches in the company and this provided impetus — or perhaps all the brand and reputation building had started to ‘bite’. Whatever, it was a strong and busy sales period.

Today, they have 20 Australian franchises and seven in New Zealand. However, Scott and Jason are able to give their full attention to their local clients because they have a national franchise manager for that part of the business — Lachlan Olsen — with whom I had a chat on the way out. Lachie (I’ve also known Lachlan for some years) talked about the culture of the organisation. People work hard but have fun along the way. He is a happy man doing a job he loves for people he respects. Way to go, Lachie!

And I want to thank them all for making time for me. It used to be fun to talk with them — and it still is.

Rewriting our history

Roald Dahl used to be called ‘one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century’. He died in 1990 at the age of 84. He wrote 21 books for children, at a time when boys were boys and girls were girls; he used the ‘wrong’ pronouns; and included words such as ‘ugly’ and ‘fat’ — not nice words. His work is now being tampered with because we no longer approve of nasty words or pronouns. They’ve already had a go at Enid Blyton and Dr Seuss.

What do you think has more of an effect on children: reading a nasty word in a book or year upon year of good parenting?

But that’s a minor question compared to the rewriting of our history — and the books of the world contain our history. They indicate what we cared about, how we spoke and what we laughed at. If the plan is to eliminate everything of which we are ashamed or embarrassed — everything of which we now disapprove — well, we are going to be busy.

We don’t like war and we don’t like torture or rape. Heavens, there’s a lot to do there! For example, the Battle of Britain shows the German people in a bad light, let’s scrub that. And the attempted elimination of the Jewish people; what does that do to the German psyche? We can’t have that story going about! We burnt ‘witches’ and sent five-year-olds to work — let’s get rid of that too.

Don’t these people understand that our true history is vitally, critically important. We need to know it, understand it and learn from it. I imagine a class of nine-year-olds, reading a Dahl story and then being asked what they like about the book — and what they don’t like. Learning from it, for heaven’s sake! Nasty words hurt people! I first read about the Holocaust when I was 13 years old. I hid the book from my parents because I knew they’d say that I was too young to read about evil; so, I read under the blankets with a torch. The cruelty, injustice and lack of humanity stunned me — but the effect was positive — every person matters, we are all equal in the sight of God, it must never happen again.

Sorry to be banging on about this — but nothing annoys me more than a handful of people changing our world for us! The tail continues to wag the dog!

By the way, if you have a few copies of the original Dahl books, leave them to your grandchildren. They’ll be worth money in the future (unless, of course, you have to burn them!).

The end of a strange summer

When I was a child, hating the winter, I used to ask why we never got a warm change in July — just as we sometimes got a cool change in January. I don’t think anyone ever answered me. Well, this summer we got more than a cool change, we got a freezing one, with a wind blowing from the South Pole. And, so far anyway, only one really hot day over 40. Remember, that Friday?

I remember other strange summers. One that started in October; in fact, I remember swimming in the river, late at night that month, because none of us could sleep. Anything can happen, really. My dad died in March and the doctor said the heat in the Mooroopna hospital contributed — it was 37ºC. In 1986, I remember being at Tulla, waiting to fly to London; it was 38ºC on April 6. I was wearing a short, silky, sleeveless dress, with a warm cardi and coat in my bag. There was sleet in London, it was freezing. I quickly donned my cardigan and coat but had forgotten about my legs — my cold nylon-covered legs.

My point being — anything could happen yet!

Which reminds me.

Writing about that April day in London reminded me of what happened next. We had checked into our hotel and my husband asked me what I wanted to see first (it was our first trip). Buckingham Palace, which unsurprisingly looked exactly the same as the hundreds of photos I had seen. Then I said I wanted to see a real English pub — and eat pork pie. We found the nearest one — so quaint, so very British. I happily ordered a pork pie. The hotelier asked me what part of Victoria I was from. A bit startled, I answered. He explained that he could easily recognise the home state of Australians by their accent. He returned with a cold, tasteless, pork pie — and said, “By the way, I’m from Echuca”.

Next week

I’ve got my history hat on — found it in the bottom of the drawer in my desk — a bit squashed but firmly in place. Next week we return to our past — in Shepp and Dookie.

Talk then, everybody. And may it be easy, my friends.

Marnie

Email: towntalk@sheppnews.com.au

Letter: Town Talk. Shepparton News. P.O. Box 204. Shepparton 3631.

Phone: Send a text on 0418 962 507. (Note: text only. I will call you back, if you wish.)