Warnings of a property crash are coming thick and fast, with all sorts of supposedly dire consequences, but these forecasts often ignore a crucial group of victims: workers.

An exception is the International Strategic Studies Association (ISSA), a think tank in the US, which warned on Monday that our property market is “about six weeks” away from a “massive hit on property valuations and the building trades” because the big banks are restricting foreign investment.

Its prediction of an apartment glut was sensational, but wasn’t too far removed from similar warnings by Citi bank, economist Shane Oliver, Australia’s richest man Harry Triguboff and many others.

Most of the dire predictions focus on foreign investment in new apartments. Photo: Getty

Where the ISSA’s warning differed was its mention of workers, rather than focussing exclusively on investors, owner-occupiers and first home buyers, as the Australian media are wont to do.

Builders, tradies, manufacturing workers, suppliers and many other Australians are at risk when the property market contracts, as several advocates told The New Daily.

Housing Industry Association CEO Graham Wolfe did not share concerns about the Sydney and Melbourne markets, which grab the majority of headlines. But he did note that parts of Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland are contracting – with potentially adverse affects on workers and small business owners.

“These cycles place considerable pressure on the industry to respond. When the market kicks up, the challenge is usually viewed through a positive lens, but when the market turns down, it’s seen through a negative one.”

Watch QBE’s predictions for the market:

For example, new home building commencements fell in Western Australia from 31,570 in 2014/15 to 24,600 in 2015/16, and are forecast to ease further to about 19,780 in 2016/17 before rising again in 2017/18, according to Mr Wolfe.

In northern Queensland, housing starts fell in Fitzroy from 3238 to 934, and in Mackay from 2668 to 613, between 2012/13 and 2014/15, Mr Wolfe said. This was offset by an increase in Cairns from 672 to 1178 over the same period.

And in South Australia, detached housing starts declined from 8400 in 2014 to 7700 in 2016, although this was offset by multi-residential starts increased 7.5 per cent from 2900 to 3120.

Workers exposed to the volatile property market face patchy employment, and are often forced to jump between sectors – and uproot their families to chase work. They risk periods of unemployment, as well as injuries that can impede their earning ability and cut their careers severely short. Add to this the risk of economic downturns and a picture of vulnerability emerges.

Work in the property market, like the market itself, is often cyclical. Photo: Getty

CFMEU national secretary Dave Noonan said apartment construction in Melbourne and Sydney was pleasingly strong, but there are concerns of oversupply in Brisbane, mainly in the investor apartment area.

“We certainly hope there is not a dramatic correction because that does cost jobs,” Mr Noonan said.

“We haven’t seen that yet, but certainly in combination with the commercial office market being reasonably flat in Brisbane and Melbourne at the moment, it would have an impact.”

The CFMEU boss noted that popular outcry at high wages in the construction sector, seized upon by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during the election campaign, ignored the volatile nature of work in the industry.

“The problem with Mr Turnbull’s world is that it’s okay for property investors to make big profits, but it’s not okay for construction workers to make a decent living wage while they’re putting their blood, sweat and tears into building our cities,” Mr Noonan said.

Australian Workers Union (AWU) national secretary Scott McDine said any potential downturn is a “big concern” for his members, many of whom manufacture bricks, concrete, glass, steel and supply construction machinery.

Workers are encouraged to upskill to arm themselves against cyclical downturns. Photo: Getty

“Up until recently the boom in housing new-starts has been one of the few green shoots in the Australian economy, so a downturn is a big concern for our members – not just those who are directly involved in the building industry, but also people who work for manufacturers and suppliers in upstream industries,” Mr McDine said.

“This makes it all the more important for government to stimulate activity in the construction sector and the broader community through building public infrastructure.”

Home building commencements reached a national record in 2015/16, but there is some evidence of a contraction.

Property finance data for July, released by the ABS last week, revealed that the total value of home loan approvals (both for investors and owner-occupiers) fell 1.8 per cent in July compared to June, the ABS reported last week.

If we dig down into this data, we find mixed results. The value of approved property investment loans rose 0.5 per cent to $11.8 billion in July. But the number of approved owner-occupier loans fell in number by 4.2 per cent and in value by 3.1 per cent ($19.9 billion).

As all the experts noted, there is no evidence of a nationwide property bust. But if such a catastrophic event were to occur, workers would be some of the biggest losers.

HIA’s Graham Wolfe encouraged workers to move or upskill, and business owners to revisit their business plans, in order to take advantage of the cyclical nature of the property market.