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Katie Woolf spoke with Master Builders NT Dave Malone · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie Wolf. Join the conversation with Katie Wolf.
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  Speaker 2: You are our eyes and ears in the Territory Mixed
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  Speaker 2: one oh four point nine joining us on the line
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  Speaker 2: right now. Master Builders NT CEO Dave Malone, Good morning.
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  Speaker 1: To you, Dave. Good morning, Katie.
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  Speaker 2: How are you very well now? Dave. I know that
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  Speaker 2: it was announced yesterday this building and renovating in the
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  Speaker 2: NT guide. It's been released released, I should say, as
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  Speaker 2: a Construction Times surge. Tell us what this is exactly.
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  Speaker 1: Well, it seems the Territory government has put together a
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  Speaker 1: guide for people who are looking to build the next
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  Speaker 1: new home or their new home and just pointing out
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  Speaker 1: how the system works in the territory. One are the
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  Speaker 1: things that people have got to look at, look out for,
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  Speaker 1: and pointing people in the right direction to get further advice.
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  Speaker 1: So it's a really good, you know, general information booklet
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  Speaker 1: for people.
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  Speaker 2: And I guess it's more on the on the side
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  Speaker 2: of the consumer. So somebody who's who's building their home,
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  Speaker 2: it gives them a bit of advice if it's something
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  Speaker 2: that they've never done before.
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  Speaker 1: I think so. I mean, we saw it for the
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  Speaker 1: first time yesterday, like everybody else did, I'd say it's
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  Speaker 1: good general information. With my fabelity fund had on, I'd
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  Speaker 1: say there's probably some extra elements that we'd like to
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  Speaker 1: put out to the community, some extra things for people
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  Speaker 1: to think about, but which aren't in that booklet, which
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  Speaker 1: I think will help people out a bit as well.
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  Speaker 1: So probably what we need to do is just get
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  Speaker 1: more information out to people.
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  Speaker 2: And what are some of those things that you reckon
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  Speaker 2: would have been good if they are included, Katie.
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  Speaker 1: What we're seeing across the market, for example, is sometimes
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  Speaker 1: new home buyers are being convinced by some builders to
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  Speaker 1: sign side deals. So instead of all of the home
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  Speaker 1: building contract being inside the contract, we end up with
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  Speaker 1: two documents, one which is a contract and one which
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  Speaker 1: is a side deal. And you know, I'd stand behind
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  Speaker 1: ninety nine percent of the builders in the territory every
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  Speaker 1: single day, but there is, like every industry, we have
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  Speaker 1: a few people who push the envelope, and so I'd
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  Speaker 1: say to people, only ever sign one document, and that
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  Speaker 1: would be your contract, and it should contain every single
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  Speaker 1: thing in it. I'd also say to people, if it's cheap,
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  Speaker 1: it's cheap for a reason. So you know, like if
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  Speaker 1: we buy anything else in life and it's really cheap. Well,
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  Speaker 1: you're getting that as a result when the home's finished,
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  Speaker 1: So think about that a bit. I'd really like just
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  Speaker 1: to encourage homeowners as well to think about the end
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  Speaker 1: stage of their home, because we know when the home
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  Speaker 1: is just about to be finished, they're paying almost their
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  Speaker 1: full mortgage, they're paying their ranks as well. Getting that
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  Speaker 1: job finished is really crucial, so they should negotiate really
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  Speaker 1: hard on arrangements about when the home will be finished.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and look, you know, you're making such good points.
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  Speaker 2: And as you said, ninety nine percent in the construction
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  Speaker 2: and building industry do the right thing when they're dealing with,
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  Speaker 2: you know, with home owners or home builders, especially though
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  Speaker 2: when you talk about those first home builders, and for
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  Speaker 2: some people if you've never sort of been involved in
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  Speaker 2: a construction all in any way, shape or form, it
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  Speaker 2: would all be quite confusing in a lot of ways.
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  Speaker 1: I think it's hugely daunting, to be honest. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: you're running a contract for three hundred and fifty thousand
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  Speaker 1: or four hundred thousand dollars for your new home. It's
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  Speaker 1: your single biggest purchase potentially in your life. And then
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  Speaker 1: there's all the romance of building a home as well.
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  Speaker 1: We can't miss that. So people are invested and in
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  Speaker 1: love with their project, and sometimes they just don't take
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  Speaker 1: enough precautions. It's easy to do. I think we've probably
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  Speaker 1: all done it at some stage in our lives. We
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  Speaker 1: just want people to be really clear minded and to
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  Speaker 1: the old saying about it, if it looks too good
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  Speaker 1: to be true, then it probably is. Just to keep
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  Speaker 1: that in the back of their minds.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, very good advice, I reckon. And hey, speaking of
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  Speaker 2: those new homes and homes being built and renovated, I
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  Speaker 2: know that each well each quarter, I think it is
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  Speaker 2: you do release the Fidelity Fund figures, which gives us
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  Speaker 2: a bit of an idea how things are going. Talk
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  Speaker 2: us through the stats.
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  Speaker 1: Well, we've just got the stats today. Actually for May.
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  Speaker 1: May was a good month for the residential sector. You know,
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  Speaker 1: we've seen contracts signed for another forty or thirty nine homes.
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  Speaker 1: I think it is which is really positive when you
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  Speaker 1: think just how we went through that boom period you know,
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  Speaker 1: over the from late last year to early this year,
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  Speaker 1: with home Builder and build Bonus both punching along the market.
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  Speaker 1: So the market is stabilized after those schemes are shut down,
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  Speaker 1: and you know, people are continuing to walk into the
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  Speaker 1: door of display homes and sign up for the contracts
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  Speaker 1: for a new home. I think it's good.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, So you said, was it thirty nine? Did
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  Speaker 2: you say thirty.
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  Speaker 1: Nine new homes? And remember that's just in the urban areas,
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  Speaker 1: that's the area that we cover, so there'd be plenty
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  Speaker 1: of other homes that have gone into indigenous communities for example.
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  Speaker 1: So the residential sector is doing a bit of work
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  Speaker 1: right now.
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  Speaker 2: And what about when you talk of you know, the renos,
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  Speaker 2: the renovations, Those larger ones are included in that, aren't they,
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  Speaker 2: But those small all the ones sort of aren't obviously.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, the renots are holding up as well, some of
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  Speaker 1: the numbers that we see months to month. You know,
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  Speaker 1: some people love their homes a lot, that's for sure.
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  Speaker 1: They spend a lot of money on it. But yeah,
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  Speaker 1: the renovations are continuing. So you know, for us, that's
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  Speaker 1: a really good sign that people have a lot of
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  Speaker 1: confidence in the territory because you know, they're spending money
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  Speaker 1: on a home they've already got. Yeah, and it's keeping
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  Speaker 1: a good slice of the industry busy. As well. But
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  Speaker 1: what's really surprising us when I talk to the people
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  Speaker 1: who've got showrooms, you know, the people who've got the
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  Speaker 1: nice gears for the new Venot, they all tell me
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  Speaker 1: there's plenty of people coming through the door.
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  Speaker 2: That is good to hear, and Dave, I know that anecdotally,
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  Speaker 2: there's sort of been a lot of discussion around Australia
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  Speaker 2: about the fact that, you know, plenty of people aren't
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  Speaker 2: able to travel overseas, they're modifying the way in which
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  Speaker 2: they're living. I guess because you know, we're spending maybe
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  Speaker 2: more time at home than what we previously had. You know,
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  Speaker 2: there's discussion about more people buying new cars, buying boats
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  Speaker 2: and things like that, but are you seeing more people
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  Speaker 2: spending money on their homes.
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  Speaker 1: I don't want to promote anyone in particular, but turn
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  Speaker 1: up to Bunnings on a Saturday morning and see what
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  Speaker 1: it's like. You know, it's you know, I'm still getting
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  Speaker 1: my sausage when everybody else is flying through the front
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  Speaker 1: door getting their gear for their home. So yes, there's
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  Speaker 1: no doubt at all that right across Australia, it's not
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  Speaker 1: a territory thing. It's everywhere. People have decided if I'm
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  Speaker 1: going to spend this much time in my home, well
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  Speaker 1: I'm going to do a bit of work on it.
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  Speaker 1: So yeah, there's been a crazy that sort of self
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  Speaker 1: renovation going on as well.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and Dave, we caught up obviously after the territory
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  Speaker 2: budget was handed down, But I know I've caught up
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  Speaker 2: with Quintin Kelly and a couple of times as well
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  Speaker 2: from the Real Estate Institute, and he was a bit
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  Speaker 2: he's certainly a bit worried that there are some changes
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  Speaker 2: to some of those first home buyer schemes. Has that
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  Speaker 2: had much of an impact across the board over to
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  Speaker 2: you guys in the construction industry, Well.
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  Speaker 1: I think Clinton was right to be fair for him.
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  Speaker 1: And you know, when you have a bunch of incentives
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  Speaker 1: in place which are encouraging people who put roots down
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  Speaker 1: in the territory and then they're removed, and they're removed
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  Speaker 1: in the way that they were without transition, then you
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  Speaker 1: know you're going to expect some ramifications from it. It's
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  Speaker 1: probably too early to tell what ramifications we're having in
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  Speaker 1: the market right now, but it seems crazy to me
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  Speaker 1: when the goal of the territory is to get first
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  Speaker 1: home buyers to buy homes and to choose the territory
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  Speaker 1: as a place to live today, tomorrow and well into
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  Speaker 1: the future. And then we chop and change how we
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  Speaker 1: put the incentives in place. And people will say to me,
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  Speaker 1: I will that's because the market's a little overheated and
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  Speaker 1: we don't want to overheat it some more. And I
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  Speaker 1: get that, except there's a vacuum after that. I really
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  Speaker 1: think we've got to have a long term strategy, which
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  Speaker 1: says you and I and everybody else, the best thing
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  Speaker 1: that we can do is keep us in the territory,
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  Speaker 1: and the best way of doing that is to get
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  Speaker 1: people to buy a home.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, very true. Anything else we should be aware of today, Dive.
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  Speaker 1: I'm looking at the window right now and I'm just
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  Speaker 1: waiting for all those military guys to take off again
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  Speaker 1: thirty five to give it a rip other than Matt Cody.
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  Speaker 1: All pretty good.
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  Speaker 2: It gets pretty noisy out there, doesn't it. As they
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  Speaker 2: fly over.
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  Speaker 1: It's making it hard for me to do zoom meetings.
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  Speaker 1: I can tell you.
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  Speaker 2: Good stuff, Dave Malone. Always good to catch up with you.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you so much for your time this morning.
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  Speaker 1: Have a good day.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you too. That is master Builders NT Chief executive
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  Speaker 2: Dave Malone. There