July 2023: another pause — and the build-cost story stabilises
Cash rate held at 4.10%. ABS construction-cost index slowed to +3.2% YoY from +14% the year prior. New-build economics started to make sense again.
Why builders mattered
With construction costs stabilising, Tier-2 and Tier-3 builders could once again price 12-month fixed contracts without absorbing margin risk. Developer pipelines began re-opening — and the new-build product that came to market in H2 2023 was priced rationally for the first time since 2021.
The acquisition window
July–November 2023 became the cleanest 'new construction at fair value' window of the cycle. Investors who acquired in this window had cost bases roughly 12–15% below comparable 2025 settlements.
Dax Stanley
Founder & Principal Strategist, Hera Property. #1 international bestselling author of Real Estate Investing Using ChatGPT.