Key Facts:
- Build Metric, an Australian construction estimating firm, received 398 builder and contractor enquiries in June 2026 alone - up from 158 in February - driven by record residential approvals and a structural shortage of estimating professionals nationwide.
- The ABS recorded 205,249 dwelling approvals in the 2025-26 financial year, a 9.2% rise on the prior year and the highest volume since 2020-21, whilst quantity surveying remains listed as a shortage occupation in every Australian state and territory.
- Surveyors Australia's 2026 workforce assessment identifies a minimum annual intake of 1,500 new professionals needed to meet baseline demand, with a compounding shortfall of over 2,000 per year projected by 2029.
- Build Metric owner Luke Rose says most builders cannot fill an estimator's working week, leading them to either overpay for underutilised capacity or lose staff within a year - making outsourced estimating an increasingly practical solution.
- With construction accounting for roughly one in four business failures in Australia - largely attributed to fixed-price contracts - accurate estimating at tender stage is critical, as errors cannot be recovered once a contract is signed.
SOUTH MELBOURNE, Australia - 15 September 2026 - Build Metric, an Australian construction estimating and quantity surveying firm, received 398 builder and contractor enquiries in June 2026 alone, up from 158 in February, as a record residential approval year collides with a structural shortage of estimating professionals across every Australian state and territory.
The ABS recorded 205,249 dwellings approved across the 2025-26 financial year, a 9.2% rise on the prior year and the highest approval volume since 2020-21. More tenders are going to market than at any point in five years. The professionals qualified to price them are not keeping pace. Surveyors Australia's 2026 workforce assessment puts the minimum annual intake needed to meet baseline demand at 1,500 new professionals, with a compounding shortfall of over 2,000 per year projected by 2029. Quantity surveying remains rated in shortage in every Australian state and territory on the 2025 Occupation Shortage List.
Build Metric received more than 1,500 enquiries from builders and contractors in the six months to July 2026. Luke Rose, owner of Build Metric, says the pattern behind that figure is consistent: builders are going to tender on more work than their internal capacity can price, and the cost of underpricing a fixed-price contract is the job.
"We recruit estimators from the same pool our clients do, so I see exactly what they are up against. The harder problem is not just finding someone; it is that most builders cannot fill an estimator's week. They pay for capacity they only half-use, or they underpay and lose that person in under a year. Outsourcing removes that problem entirely," said Luke Rose, owner of Build Metric.
Build Metric provides construction estimating services to residential and commercial builders nationally, preparing quantity takeoffs, bills of quantities, cost estimates, and submission-ready tender documentation at a fixed cost. The company employs 45 full-time staff and holds a 98% accuracy rate across submitted estimates, a standard that matters because builders sign fixed-price contracts against those numbers.
Construction accounts for roughly one in four business failures in Australia, with fixed-price contracts consistently identified as the primary driver. An estimating error made at tender stage is not recoverable once the contract is signed. Build Metric says enquiry volume is expected to remain elevated through the second half of 2026 as the housing pipeline continues to generate tender activity the industry does not have the internal capacity to price.
About us:
About Buildmetric Build Metric is an Australian construction estimating and quantity surveying firm based in South Melbourne, providing takeoffs, bills of quantities, and tender documentation to residential and commercial builders nationally. Founded by Luke Rose, the company employs 45 full-time staff and operates across Australia and New Zealand.
