Construction

New Zealand’s construction sector is shifting from cautious optimism to practical realism, according to Kennards Hire’s second annual Construction Confidence Check survey. 84% of construction leaders are confident in the industry’s growth over the next five years, even as businesses navigate cost pressures and economic uncertainty. 79% agree the sector has remained stable over the […]

Recent events affecting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz are a reminder that fuel prices can change rapidly in response to global events. We don’t know how long this disruption will go on, or what impact it will have if it continues. But we do know that prices are elevated and volatile. We can expect […]

For years, construction firms have built around a moving political target. Consenting rules, building standards and housing settings swung with each change of government, and builders, developers and subcontractors absorbed the cost of the uncertainty. The coalition Government is now betting that its overhaul of the planning and consenting system can end that, and at […]

Wellington faces the biggest shake-up to its earthquake rules in a decade, and it lands squarely on the capital’s builders, engineers and building owners. The Building (Earthquake-prone Building System Reform) Amendment Bill is expected to pass before the 2026 election, rewriting how New Zealand handles earthquake-prone buildings. The headline change is time. Councils will be […]

Dunedin’s property market outperforms expectations with numbers catching people off-guard. Fresh data puts the city’s home values up 3.3% over the last year, driven in part by a recovering student population. Christchurch, long seen as the affordable alternative to Auckland and Wellington, has now been overtaken, with its median sale price edging above Dunedin’s for […]

The recent magnitude 6.3 earthquake near Te Anau, and the tsunami warning that briefly followed, were a reminder that New Zealand’s biggest seismic risks don’t always stay where they’re expected. Resilience is no longer just about compliance or retrofitting after the fact, but about how buildings and infrastructure are conceived from the outset. That shift […]