The Friday Intelligence Briefing
Plain · Sourced · Every FridayThree of the nine board members voted to keep the rate at 4.60%. The four major banks will raise variable home loan rates by 0.25 percentage points from Friday 13 November.
By BuilderHQ, Melbourne
On Tuesday the Reserve Bank raised the cash rate by 0.25 points to 4.85%. The board voted six to three.
The Bank's new forecasts, released the same day, have dwelling investment growing more slowly through 2027 and then falling. Dwelling investment includes renovations, so it is not a count of new homes.
ASIC's annual insolvency figures show construction was again the largest industry. Market Watch sets out checks for each party to a project.
In the Feature, how architects and building designers use BuilderHQ from the first client meeting to tender. In Partner Corner, Base Building Design and its Rooney House in Richmond.
The BuilderHQ Team
Three developments this week.
4.85%
the cash rate target from 4 November, after the Reserve Bank's decision on Tuesday 3 November
Six to three vote
The Reserve Bank raised the cash rate target by 0.25 points to 4.85% on Tuesday. It is the fifth rise of 2026.
The board voted six to three. At her media conference, Governor Michele Bullock said the three members who preferred to hold gave more weight to the risk of the economy slowing. The Bank's statement said: "The economy is slowing, housing prices have fallen significantly and the unemployment rate has risen."
The statement no longer says the cash rate may need to rise further. Governor Bullock said: "Some pain now will prevent even worse pain down the track."
CBA, Westpac, NAB and ANZ will each raise variable home loan rates by 0.25 percentage points from Friday 13 November. ANZ says this adds about $79 a month to repayments on a $500,000 owner-occupier principal and interest loan.
The next decision is on Tuesday 8 December. Issue 012 covered the rise to 4.60%, and Issue 015 the forecasts before this decision.
What this means for you
The three members' reasons are from the Governor's media conference.
| Series | Members |
|---|---|
| voted to raise | 6 |
| voted to hold | 3 |
Dates are when each change took effect. The cash rate was held in June and August.
| Series | Cash rate |
|---|---|
| At 2026-01-01 | 3.60% |
| from 4 Feb | 3.85% |
| from 18 Mar | 4.10% |
| from 6 May | 4.35% |
| from 30 Sep | 4.60% |
| from 4 Nov | 4.85% |
$79about $79 more a month on a $500,000 owner-occupier principal and interest loan with ANZ, from 13 November
Source: Reserve Bank of Australia, Statement by the Monetary Policy Board and media conference, 3 November 2026 · Reserve Bank of Australia, cash rate target · CommBank, Westpac, NAB and ANZ rate announcements, 4 November 2026.
−3.5%
the Reserve Bank's forecast change in dwelling investment over the year to June 2028, the lowest point in its forecasts
Forecast, not data
Alongside the decision, the Reserve Bank published new forecasts in its Statement on Monetary Policy. Dwelling investment is spending on building new homes and on renovating and altering existing ones. It is measured in dollars, not as a count of housing starts.
Growth is forecast to slow through 2027. Dwelling investment is then forecast to fall over the years to December 2027 and December 2028, with the largest fall in the year to June 2028.
The Bank expects headline inflation to peak at 4.5% in the December quarter and to stay above 3% until late 2027. The forecasts assume the cash rate follows market pricing: about 4.9% in mid-2027, and 4.8% from the end of 2027.
The Bank also says established housing prices "have continued to fall more quickly than expected". Issue 006 covered an earlier forecast.
What this means for you
Forecast, not data, from December 2026 onward. Each column is the change over the year to that month. Reserve Bank of Australia, November 2026.
| Series | Change over the year |
|---|---|
| Jun 2026 (data) | 5.8% |
| Dec 2026 | 5.1% |
| Jun 2027 | 1.3% |
| Dec 2027 | −2.8% |
| Jun 2028 | −3.5% |
| Dec 2028 | −1.8% |
Source: Reserve Bank of Australia, Statement on Monetary Policy, November 2026, Table 3.1 (published 3 November 2026).
24.5%
of external administration appointments in 2025-26 were in construction, the most of any industry
ASIC, Corporate Insolvency Update
ASIC's annual figures show 14,153 companies entered external administration for the first time in 2025-26. That was 4% fewer than the year before.
Construction was the most common industry for appointments. The industry has a very large number of small businesses, so its share of appointments does not mean a similar share of builders is affected. Most construction businesses continue to trade.
Simple checks before and during a project reduce the risk for each party to the contract. Issue 008 explained what administration means for owners, including home warranty cover.
The five industries ASIC publishes. Shares are of appointments, not of all companies in each industry.
| Series | Share of appointments |
|---|---|
| Construction | 24.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 14.7% |
| Other services | 9.8% |
| Retail trade | 7.1% |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 7.0% |
Source: ASIC, Corporate Insolvency Update, Issue 41, October 2026.
Practices use BuilderHQ at the stages where cost, budget and the choice of builder are decided. This Feature sets out where each module is used and how client referrals work.
More than 20 design practices now appear on BuilderHQ's Preferred Partner register, and practices use the platform on projects from renovations to multi-dwelling work. The modules support the practice's own work. The design, the documentation and the advice to the client remain the practice's.
Most residential projects follow similar stages. The chart shows the stages at which a practice uses each module.
Where each module fits in a project
Client referral
BuilderHQ introduces · Introduction
A homeowner who asked for a design practice, with the brief, budget and timing.
Cost estimate
Prepared by BuilderHQ · Brief and concept to documentation
Low, Most Likely and High totals for the design, with each trade priced.
Cost optimisation
Prepared by BuilderHQ · Developed design
Options to bring the design back to budget, each with its saving.
Tender
Run by the practice · Tender
Builders price one structured scope, and the tenders are compared.
Construction programme
For the builder · Construction
Each stage of the build with its dates.
Stages vary between practices and projects. A practice can request a cost estimate at more than one stage.
A cost estimate gives the practice and the client Low, Most Likely and High totals for the design, with each trade priced and the allowances listed. Practices request one at concept or developed design, so the budget can be discussed against the current drawings.
Where the estimate is above the budget, a cost optimisation sets out options that could bring the project back to it, each with its estimated saving and trade-off. The practice decides which options suit the design, and discusses them with the client.
The practice uploads the documents, and BuilderHQ organises them into a structured scope that the client approves. Every builder prices the same scope, in a private round with builders the practice invites or an open round with BuilderHQ's network. The tenders are compared on six published measures. The practice advises the client, and the client chooses the builder. Issue 012 sets out each step.
Once a builder is engaged, the builder can request a construction programme for the same project.
Homeowners who ask BuilderHQ for a design practice are introduced to a practice in the Preferred Partner network whose work suits the project. As the network has grown, BuilderHQ has begun sharing client briefs with partner practices.
How a client referral works
Client referrals are part of the Essentials and Pro practice plans. A practice receives no payment from BuilderHQ or from any builder for a referral, a tender or the builder its client chooses. The building contract is between the client and the builder.
A practice that works this way can give the client a cost estimate before the design is settled, set out options if the budget is tight, and ask builders to price one defined scope. The client sees the figures behind each decision and makes those decisions.
Source: BuilderHQ platform and Preferred Partner register, November 2026.
Practices request each module from their dashboard, and each is included in one or more practice plans. Reports are prepared by BuilderHQ's team from the practice's drawings.
Low, Most Likely and High totals, with each trade priced and the allowances listed.
Plans: Lite, Essentials and Pro
How it works, Issue 013Options that could bring a project back to its budget, each with its estimated saving and trade-off.
Plans: Essentials and Pro
How it works, Issue 014Open rounds with BuilderHQ's builder network, and private rounds with builders the practice invites. Every builder prices the same scope.
Plans: Open rounds on every plan, private rounds on Essentials and Pro
How it works, Issue 012Introductions to homeowners who asked BuilderHQ for a design practice, with the brief, budget and timing.
Plans: Essentials and Pro
The partner registerA Compliance Check for practices is in preparation. Builders can request a construction programme, covered in Issue 015.
A Carnegie studio for heritage renovations and new homes, with the interiors designed alongside the building.
Heritage renovations & New homes and townhouses · Carnegie, VIC · In the network since 2026
Building design studio · Carnegie, VIC
5.0
Google rating, 3 reviews
2010
Established
2012
Registered building designer
Why we introduce them
Base Building Design & Interiors is led by Lenny Sacco, a registered building designer and a member of Design Matters National. Lenny founded the practice in 2010 as Raw Drafting, and renamed it in 2019.
The practice
The studio works across Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula on heritage renovations, new homes, townhouses and multi-residential projects, from feasibility and town planning through design and documentation to interior design.
Base Building Design carries each project from the building design through to the interiors.
The project
A mid-1800s Victorian terrace, restored at the front and extended at the rear for a growing family.
The brief was to retain a mid-1800s terrace and adapt it for a growing family. Base restored the heritage facade and the formal front rooms, and converted them into the main bedroom suite, keeping the original detailing.
Behind them, a new addition holds an open-plan kitchen, dining and living area. The site is narrow, so the design adds a central courtyard that brings light and air into the middle of the house, with the living spaces opening onto it.
The house was completed in 2025 and built by Blueprint Constructions.
See the Rooney House on Base Building Design's website
The caretaker period began at 6pm on 3 November, and major new decisions now wait until after the election. The new deposit and progress payment regulations were made on 27 October, before it began, and start on 31 March 2027. Until then, the current 5% deposit cap continues to apply to contracts of $20,000 or more.
Total dwelling approvals rose 5.1% to 17,948 in September, seasonally adjusted. Approvals for apartments, townhouses and other attached homes rose 16.6%. Private house approvals fell 5.3% nationally, and 6.0% in Victoria to 2,895.
The ACT has no seasonally adjusted house series. In trend terms, ACT dwelling approvals rose 12.9% to 333.
Values fell 0.8% in October, according to Cotality, and are 7.3% lower than five years ago. Canberra values fell 0.7% in the month. Nationally, values fell 1.2% in October and are 6.7% below their March peak.
The Parliamentary Budget Office's 2026 Election Commitment Tracker lists the commitments of parties with two or more MPs, and is updated weekly. Issues 014 and 015 set out the main housing commitments.
These are election commitments, not current law.
This edition used data and reporting from the Reserve Bank of Australia, ASIC, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Cotality, CommBank, Westpac, NAB, ANZ, the Victorian Government, the Parliamentary Budget Office and the ABC. The Build Brief is compiled by BuilderHQ, Melbourne.
Reply with a line. Responses help shape future editions.
Reply to the teamThe RBA raised the cash rate to 4.85% on a six to three vote, its forecasts have dwelling investment falling in 2027 and 2028, and how architects use BuilderHQ. This week's Build Brief.
The Build Brief is compiled by BuilderHQ, Melbourne. Read past editions at builderhq.com.au/build-brief.
