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Subscriber only Skyrocketing prices and a shortage of building materials and tradespeople have crippled Sunshine Coast builders who fear they will not turn a profit this year. However, in the long run, the scheme and its extension has backfired on the building industry. Many local firms said they were locked into contracts at fixed prices at the start of the scheme but a massive shortage of roofing materials, timber, frames, trusses, hinges and tradespeople had driven prices up. This meant many Coast builders now no longer expected to make money in 2021. Third generation builder Mitch Butler, who started out in the Coast construction industry in 1971, said it had been the toughest year he had experienced.