The Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ) has described 2024 as a mixed year for the building and construction sector — a year in which the impact of two years of declining consent numbers began to be felt on the ground, while the seeds of potential recovery were being planted.
“The industry now sees the impact of fewer consents over the last 18 months,” said BRANZ Senior Research Analyst Matthew Curtis. “Builders who rely on new construction projects have been especially impacted. Market uncertainty is still high, and costs have escalated since the coronavirus pandemic, leading to many projects stalling or not starting.”
The Residential Underwrite Initiative
One of the more significant government interventions of 2024 was the Residential Development Underwrite initiative, which aimed to support developers by providing a form of pre-sale guarantee to help secure bank financing for consented, priced, and ready-to-go projects. BRANZ noted this as a signal that the government saw some strength returning to the residential sector — though the practical impact on the pipeline was still working through during the year.
BRANZ’s Research Focus Areas
BRANZ’s work in 2024 continued to focus on the areas the sector most needs: building performance, weathertightness, energy efficiency, and resilience. A key concern is ensuring that as the consent system is streamlined and reformed, the quality controls that prevent costly failures are maintained and strengthened rather than eroded.
The organisation also continued work on embodied carbon — the emissions associated with building materials and construction processes — as a growing priority. With New Zealand committed to significant emissions reductions, the construction sector’s material choices will need to change substantially over the coming decades, and BRANZ is doing the research that will inform those choices.
Looking to 2025
Curtis noted cautious optimism for 2025, contingent on interest rate reductions continuing to filter through to improved affordability and developer confidence. Renovation and alteration work — which tends to hold up better than new construction during downturns — provided more resilience in 2024 than many expected, and BRANZ expects this trend to continue into 2025.
For the industry, BRANZ’s role as an independent research body providing evidence-based guidance is particularly valuable during periods of change. As consent reform, insulation standards, and new building products are introduced, having robust data on what works and what doesn’t is essential for avoiding repeating past mistakes.