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Chief Executive's Report:
Julien Leys
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Dear BIF NZ members and supporters,
July was a busy and exciting month for both the wider building and construction industry, and for BIF NZ. Some of the highlights include:
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BIF NZ was interviewed by the media several times including Radio New Zealand, Newstalk ZB and The Post (Stuff) on a variety of issues from the state of the building sector to the proposed sale of Fletcher Construction.
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I was re-elected to represent BIF NZ on the Board of the Construction Industry Council. Very grateful for the continued support.
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An interesting interview with
Hon. Chris Penk, Minister of Building and Construction
as part of the Building Leaders Forum Series -
click the thumbnail below to view.
It was a great chat and I highly recommend you take the time to view it if you have an interest in the current and future state of the building and construction industry in New Zealand.
Some interesting policy announcements were made towards the end of last month, too - more on these in the news section below.
As we look ahead into August, we will also be sending BIF NZ members the packs for the 2025 AGM, which will be in Auckland on
Thursday 11 September
- please add a placeholder to your diaries.
This is the last month of winter, which we know can be a particularly tough time for our industry. Keep up the toolbox talks and check in on one another - resources like
Mates in Construction
and
CHASNZ
are a great place to start if you or someone you know is struggling.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding the building industry, reach out to us at
office@bifnz.co.nz
and we will do our best to help.
Ngā mihi nui,
Julien Leys
Building Industry Federation of New Zealand Chief Executive
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BIF NZ: Building Leaders Forum with Hon. Chris Penk, Minister for Building & Construction
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In this newsletter:
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BIF NZ in the news
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Building Code Update
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2025 BDO Construction Sector Report
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Constructive 2025: Women in Leadership
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Stats NZ: Stand-alone houses lead annual rise in home consents
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Forsyth Barr: Building News Wrap
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Industry Headlines
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Building Code Update
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) Building Performance team are hosting a webinar on
Wednesday 13 August at 11am
to walk through the new Building Product Specifications document and updates to a number of acceptable solutions and verification methods.
This session will help you confidently navigate the new documents and understand where the Building Product Specifications fits in the Building Code system.
It will cover information on the new editions of acceptable solutions and verification methods for:
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B1 Structure
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B2 Durability
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C Protection from Fire
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E2 External Moisture
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G4 Ventilation
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H1 Energy Efficiency (H1/VM3 only)
Devin Glennie, Principal Advisor Building Code, and Katie Symons, Principal Advisor Engineering, will discuss the new documents and give you an opportunity to ask questions.
The webinar is expected to run for one hour (11am - 12pm). No prior registration is required.
Mark your calendars with
this Microsoft Teams link
to join on the day.
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2025 BDO Construction Sector Report
BDO's Construction Sector Report is an annual study of the priority issues facing business leaders in New Zealand’s construction industry. Based on a nationwide survey of 196 business owners and leaders in April-May 2025, the report reveals that while the construction sector is facing significant uncertainty right now, there are reasons to be optimistic.
Along with an overview of the core challenges facing the sector, the report captures the current sentiment of construction business leaders and their expectations for the future. The report takes a closer look at specific projects, business types and regional issues, while also sharing practical tips for construction business leaders to help navigate the challenges ahead.
View their report on the
BDO website
.
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Constructive 2025: Women in Leadership
The Women in Leadership panel at Constructive 2025 will bring together some of the most influential women in construction and business, including CEO of Sport New Zealand Raelene Castle, CEO of Mitre 10 Andrea Scown, and our own BIF NZ Board Member CEO of ITM Sara Johnston, for an honest conversation about leading through change.
Topics will include:
• Resilience and confidence under pressure
• Building inclusive teams and businesses
• The future of leadership in construction
Register
here
, via NZ Master Builders.
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Stats NZ: Stand-alone houses lead annual rise in home consents
There were 33,979 new homes consented in Aotearoa New Zealand in the year ended June 2025, up 1.0 percent compared with the year ended June 2024, according to figures recently released by Stats NZ.
The lift was largely due to a 6.3 percent rise in stand-alone house consents, reaching 15,858. In contrast, consents for multi-unit homes fell 3.2 percent to 18,121 in the year ended June 2025.
View more data on stand-alone houses leading to an annual rise in home consents from Stats NZ
here
.
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via Stats NZ
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Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted number of new dwellings consented fell 6.4 percent in June 2025, after rising 10 percent in May 2025.
View more data on building consents issued in June from Stats NZ
here
.
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via Stats NZ
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Forsyth Barr: Building News Wrap
Forsyth Barr
releases regular updates on the building sector in New Zealand.
From their latest Building News Wrap:
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Net migration remains subdued (May): Net gain of migrants -0.1k, seasonally adjusted +1.5k (previous -0.7k/+1.1k respectively). 12 months rolling +14.8k (previous +15.0k). Last 3-months annualised +13.7k. There have been significant downward revisions to recent estimates.
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Mortgage lending continues to pick up (May): Total mortgage lending up +24.2% yoy (with first home buyers 11.1%, other owner/occupier down +23.9% and investors +40.3% yoy).
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Residential rents decline (MBIE, May): 3m rolling average rents -1.6% yoy with Auckland -1.9% yoy, Wellington -4.7% yoy, and Canterbury +0.1% yoy.
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Rental inventory remains elevated (realestate.co.nz, Jun.): National listings +15.3% yoy (previously +21.3%) with Auckland +6.1%, Wellington +82.2%, Waikato +35.1%, and Canterbury -0.5%.
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Residential property values mixed (QV HPI, 2Q25): Average residential dwelling value of NZ$910k, down -0.3% qoq and -0.6% yoy. Average values increased in Tauranga +0.1% qoq, Hamilton +0.5% and Christchurch +0.1%, but declined in Auckland -1.0%, Wellington -2.0%, and Dunedin -1.5%.
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Residential asking prices fall again (Trade Me, Jun.): The national average down -1.8% mom to c.NZ$830k. This follows declines of -1.2% in May and -0.8% in April. Year-on-year, the average asking price is down -1.4%, with Auckland -2.7% and Wellington -1.9%.
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Residential build costs creep higher (CoreLogic Cordell Construction Index, 2Q25): House building costs lifted +0.6% qoq, +2.7% yoy, the highest annual growth rate since 3Q23, with weatherboard cladding lifted +6% qoq while decking timber and ceiling batts -1% qoq.
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RBNZ keeps the OCR on hold at 3.25%: Inflation uncertainty is currently “elevated” but “If medium-term inflation pressures continue to ease as projected, the Committee expects to lower the Official Cash Rate further.”
NZ National Median Rent:
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MBIE, via Forsyth Barr
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As seen in the above graph, NZ rents, which are viewed as a good indicator of the housing supply/demand balance, are declining.
Many thanks to Forsyth Barr for allowing us to share these insights.
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July 28, Stuff:
New health and safety rules will change when builders have to put up scaffolding
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July 25, NZ Herald:
Civil contracting future ‘bright’, PM Christopher Luxon tells Tauranga conference
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July 20, NZ Herald:
Mike Greer Homes bucks house-building slump
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July 18, BusinessDesk:
What Kiwi home buyers want is one thing; what developers are building is another
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July 16, RNZ:
Trades apprentice numbers down, workforce shortage warnings
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July 16, The Press:
Work, Interrupted: Building slowdown cuts deep, wiping out 17,000 jobs
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July 15, Interest:
Chris Bishop: We must decouple house prices from economic growth
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July 14, BusinessDesk:
Certified Builders and Branz offer up home designs to help the housing crisis
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July 13, NZ Herald:
Insulation rule changes could save Northland builders $15,000 per build
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July 3, BusinessDesk:
Formcrete Construction owes $7.4m as liquidation unfolds
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June 16, NZ Herald:
Tauranga's new Bunnings ope
ns
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Jonathan Cameron, Stuff
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International building news:
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If you would like to be on the mailing list to receive our BIF monthly newsletters directly, please let us know by emailing
office@bifnz.co.nz
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