Commercial building still strong: survey

The workload in the state's commercial building sector remains strong, but there is growing concern that many projects may be postponed or cancelled due to global uncertainty, a survey has found.

In contrast, the first home buyer market is the only positive for the housing construction industry, with stagnation in other housing sectors.

In the Master Builders / Grant Thorton survey of industry conditions for the September quarter, 90 per cent of builders reported average to above average profits for the period in the housing sector.

Better cost management, improved productivity and better job control all contributed to the result, the survey found.

Meanwhile, 72 per cent of respondents reported average profits in the commercial sector, however concerns were raised that projects could be impacted by the global financial crisis.

"Despite the slowdown, current building activity levels and industry profitability in commercial building remain sound although financial market instability is making new developments less viable," the report said.

"This will however have little impact on on-site construction activity for some time, as the lead time between project financing and onsite construction is long. The peak of the current cycle appears to have passed in this sector."

Overall, 63 major builders in WA contributed to the survey.