Property · Building · Design
Before Christmas last year, Brian Honeybone, aged 67, made a difficult decision: to end his 50-year construction career. The family building company his father founded around 60 years ago had finally entered liquidation.
As market conditions change, so do the questions construction businesses are asking. Which new materials and technologies are ready for use on real projects? How can building performance and construction efficiency be improved? Where can businesses find policy guidance, workforce assistance and technical support? And where are the next opportunities for collaboration?
The Post recently published an article titled ‘Are the days of construction policy “flip flops” over?’, examining whether New Zealand's construction and housing policies are moving beyond repeated reversals and continual changes whenever a new government takes office.
With Kāinga Ora (New Zealand’s housing and communities agency) forecasting an operating surplus of around NZ$1,000,000,000 for the 2027 financial year, many people have focused on that impressive financial performance.
Major commercial projects could gain a unified national consenting process, with producer statements signed by qualified engineers receiving legal recognition and residential consenting also potentially becoming more efficient.
Following New Zealand’s first interest rate rise in three years, the effects are already beginning to show in ordinary households’ mortgages and living costs.
Once regarded as one of Auckland’s most promising future coastal housing developments, the project has now reached a sobering conclusion.
This afternoon, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) announced an increase in the Official Cash Rate (OCR) of 25 basis points to 2.50%. This is its first rate rise since May 2023, and the first under new Governor Anna Breman.
New Zealand's construction sector has endured a difficult period in recent years. High inflation, rising building material prices, volatile international oil prices and a persistently subdued housing market have slowed or stalled many developments, while construction firms have widely faced fewer orders and pressure on profits.
Markets put the chance of a rate rise as high as 75%, yet economists are unusually split into two camps. Falling international oil prices, persistent inflationary pressure and an economic recovery that has yet to find firm footing are all in play. Against this backdrop, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's interest rate decision this Wednesday is considered its toughest policy choice of the year.
With the first half of 2026 behind us, New Zealand’s property market has delivered a revealing mid-year report card.
In property development, attention naturally tends to focus on the construction phase.