Rate hikes and tax changes are flowing through to lower sales, says Stockland CEO | The Business

Residential developer Stockland has told investors the phone didn’t ring as much in the June quarter as buyers pulled back. It didn’t stop its share price rocketing up, though, after the company reported a bumper profit. Its full-year net profit surged 20 per cent to $994 million. Residential property earnings, the firm says, boosted its bottom line. Speaking to The Business, chief executive Tarun Gupta says he’s in favour of increasing the number of skilled migrants. “We agree we have quite a big shortage of construction workers in the country. On high estimates, at least 100,000 construction workers are required. And we need to really train more apprentices, but that will take time… So, the other lever we have to look at is bringing in skilled migrants to build the homes and the infrastructure that’s required around the country,” he says.

Mr Gupta says the number of first home buyers coming into the property market hasn’t changed “markedly” since the government’s tax changes, but the three Reserve Bank interest rate hikes earlier this year are starting to dampen demand. “This year we’re guiding to lower sales in financial year 2027 compared to financial year 2026, really reflecting that lag effect of interest rates flowing through and also some of the sentiment that’s been impacted by the tax changes.” Mr Gupta also revealed early plans to invest in data centres. #ABCBusiness

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