Building product manufacturers Brickworks have opened a new design centre on Brisbane Street.
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The centre will operate as a function venue as well as a display site for different material options for building a house.
The launch event was attended by Brickworks general manager Lindsay Partridge, who oversees the production of bricks and other materials across Australia and New Zealand.
He said he has witnessed Tasmania having the strongest housing growth out of all Australian and New Zealand markets.
“What we have is that people in the largest capital cities have had good capital gains on their houses, and either they’re retirees looking to downsize to boost their retirement savings, or they’re young people who can’t afford to buy a house in the larger capital cities and they’re choosing to buy a house here,” he said.
“So you get that interstate migration boosting the housing.”
He said the Tasmanian housing market had also been helped by the general Tasmanian economy, which he believes is the strongest he’s seen in 15 years.
“If the economy is not going well then the last thing people are going to do is buy a house,” he said.
“They have to have confidence that they’re going to keep their job, and that they’re going to be able to pay off a mortgage before they make that commitment.
“So [housing] is a good indicator of how the economy’s going, and it’s as strong as it’s ever been since we’ve been here.”
Brickworks new centre is a showroom for architects, designers, builders, developers, and retail customers to make product selections including brick, block and stone, timber and concrete and clay roof tiles.
It employs 33 staff in Tasmania, including 24 at its Longford plant.