PEOPLE may be forced to live in tents if interest rates continue to rise and the number of houses built falls to its lowest level yet, according to Lindsay Partridge, boss of the country’s biggest brick maker.
The negative effects of the latest interest rate rise have yet to be played out, the managing director of Brickworks said after the company delivered a 9.7 per cent rise in half-year net profit to $40.3 million.
He said demand for housing continued to rise because of tight rental markets and record immigration numbers.
“At some point the fundamental shortage of housing construction must be addressed,” he said.
