LEIGH Moore was bracing for COVID-19 fallout as recently as a month ago.

The director of Cavalier Homes was putting builds on the backburner and was wondering whether parts of the industry could grind to a halt.

He and others across the industry have seen their fortunes reversed in the last three weeks as state and federal government funds arrived.

Most important has been the $25,000 HomeBuilder grant, Mr Moore said.

“Everyone is talking about that $25 grand. Its motivated quite a lot of people to move straight away,” he said.

Cavalier Homes has seen the number of people visiting its display homes surge from four to 40 per week.

Bendigo’s construction industry lost an estimated $31.2 million dollars in output during the crisis, according to economic consultancy group REMPLAN.

Master Builders Victoria chief executive Rebecca Casson said the grants and state government investment will help avert the industry’s collapse short term.

“This was quite disastrous for our industry as the pipeline was quickly drying up, and its why we have worked with both the state and federal governments to find a path back for these projects,” she said.

“We’re not out of the woods yet, but the spike in interest does give us more confidence to keep looking at new projects, keep people in the region employed and hopefully play our part in the recovery of the local economy.”