Movement cracking when buying in the south-east
How we assess cracks in brickwork and plaster on a pre-purchase inspection, and what they mean for a buyer.
In short: Buyers looking around Clyde North often widen their search to older suburbs nearby. Older homes on reactive clay show movement, and a pre-purchase inspection measures how much.
Why buyers see more cracks in older stock
Houses that have been through decades of wet winters and dry summers on reactive clay will have moved. The question is not whether there are cracks but how wide, which direction and whether they are still active.
What we recorded
On a May 2026 inspection in Dandenong North, cracks ran through the external brickwork and across internal walls and ceilings, consistent with settlement and structural movement. The same property had heaving concrete paths that had become trip hazards.
How cracks are assessed
We measure widths, note whether cracks follow mortar or split bricks, look for stepping at corners and check doors and windows for binding. The pattern tells more than any single crack.
What it means for a buyer
Significant movement cracking does not always rule a house out, but it should change the conversation. An engineer's assessment, a repair estimate or a price adjustment may follow.
Newer homes too
Clyde North's young homes crack less, but drainage that falls to the walls and garden beds against the slab start the same process. We look for those causes as well as the cracks.
Written by our local inspection team from work carried out in Clyde North. Licensed building practitioners, Building & Plumbing Commission registration CDB-U 53425.
