Downturn and change coming for home builders: Westpac

Downturn and change coming for home builders: Westpac
Fletcher Building opened a prefabrication factory in 2019. (Image: Fletcher Building)
Staff reporters
Residential construction should slow in the second half of 2023 and the country is likely to end up with fewer larger and better-resourced building firms, according to Westpac economist Paul Clark.But those firms will increasingly become installers of prefabricated units, which will increasingly be imported.“At the moment, New Zealand’s residential building sector remains hot with activity levels and consent issuance currently running at record highs,” Clark said. “That is unlikely to last.”Data released on Thursda...

More Infrastructure

Court funding miss ‘undermines market confidence’
Finance

Court funding miss ‘undermines market confidence’

Plenary and Infrastructure NZ wrote to ministers over PPP ‘disappointment’.

Oliver Lewis 17 Sep 2025
The 'little thing' Infratil brings to its investments
Infrastructure

The 'little thing' Infratil brings to its investments

CEOs may not like it, but the returns are undeniable.

Auckland housing project withdrawn from fast-track
Policy

Auckland housing project withdrawn from fast-track

The developer plans to lodge a fresh application after draft decline.

Oliver Lewis 16 Sep 2025
150 years of infrastructure spending going ‘boom’
Infrastructure

150 years of infrastructure spending going ‘boom’

We actually spend a lot more on infrastructure than you might think.