The Headline Numbers
The 2025 Master Builders State of the Sector survey, drawing on responses from nearly 1,000 participants, presents a picture of an industry at a transition point. The pessimism of 2023 and 2024 has given way to cautious confidence: 63 percent of builders believe the economy will improve within the next 12 months, 64 percent report strong or steady order books (up from 51 percent the previous year), and 62 percent expect their business to improve by the end of 2026.
Master Builders CEO Ankit Sharma captured the mood: “Homeowners are telling us that, even in challenging conditions, building in New Zealand can still be a rewarding experience.” The sector is not declaring victory, but it is no longer in crisis management mode.
Where the Delays Are Coming From
Seventy-two percent of homeowners surveyed reported no significant delays in their builds. That leaves 28 percent who did experience material delays — and the causes are consistent with what the industry has been reporting for years. Consent processing times, supply chain constraints, and subcontractor availability are the three most commonly cited sources of project delay. Seventy-two percent of firms report having received “stop the clock” requests from building consent authorities beyond statutory processing timeframes — a measure of how routinely councils are managing backlogs by formally pausing their processing obligations.
Budget Overruns
Thirty-seven percent of projects exceeded budget. The three primary causes identified are scope changes by the client, unclear initial estimates, and material price increases during the project period. The first two of these are within the control of builders and clients, and both are improved by more rigorous pre-contract scoping and quoting processes. The third is a market condition — construction material cost volatility has moderated significantly from its 2022-2023 peaks, but builders who signed fixed-price contracts during that period bore the full impact of unexpected cost increases.
The Regional Picture
Recovery is strongest in the South — Canterbury, Otago, and Southland are rebounding faster than Auckland and Wellington. The capital’s consenting environment and the ongoing softness in Auckland’s residential market are holding those regions back relative to the national trend. Builders in the South report filling order books more quickly and with greater certainty than their counterparts in the larger northern markets.
Structural Challenges That Remain
Construction costs, access to construction finance, and consenting delays remain the three structural challenges most consistently identified across the sector. These are not problems that positive sentiment resolves — they require policy and regulatory action to meaningfully improve. The survey results suggest the sector is ready to grow when conditions allow; the remaining question is whether the regulatory and financial environment will catch up with the industry’s recovered confidence.
