I'm hoping that there is something else as the wife and I just signed to build a Floreat with SPH and we are hoping the dramas are ending now we arent having to deal with the sales consultant...
Why I say luck is I guess it depends with who you deal with - sales rep, internal SPH staff, etc. My friend's soon-to-be neighbour signed up with SPH September-ish 08 and only got their slab a year later. They weren't even told why there was delays (sales rep had stuffed them around a bit but after slab was poured, everything has been going well for them). They signed up before the govt released the $21k boost. Then I know another friend of mine who's built with SPH and they were pretty much on time, I think only a month or so late.
As zircon said, one of the major causes NOW would be due to the Vittoria range and of course trying to process all of the first home owners.