By Pattrick Smellie June 25 (BusinessDesk) - The government should reallocate KiwiBuild funding to social and rental housing rather than take on higher levels of financial risk than housing policies of other countries to assist KiwiBuild buyers who are "sufficiently well off t...

By Pattrick Smellie June 24 (BusinessDesk) - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern went out of her way to defend the record of Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford while announcing her "relatively minor" Cabinet portfolio reshuffle will be unveiled on Thursday. Twyfo...

By Jenny Ruth June 20 (BusinessDesk) - Kiwi Property Group is considering adding residential property to its mixed-use centres, although no decisions have been made about how to go about it, chair Mark Ford told the annual shareholders' meeting. “It's certainly something we...

By Gavin Evans June 14 (BusinessDesk) - Forestry encroachment onto higher-value farm land is an issue for councils to manage, Lands Minister Eugenie Sage says. The national environmental standard for plantation forestry doesn’t set out to encourage forestry on good farm lan...

By Jenny Ruth June 14 (BusinessDesk) - House price inflation edged marginally higher in May, suggesting the government’s decision in April to shelve a capital gains tax and the Reserve Bank’s decision to cut interest rates early in May have started to take effect. The lates...

By Gavin Evans June 13 (BusinessDesk) - The status of split ministerial decisions on land purchases by overseas investors may be considered in the next phase of a review of the Overseas Investment Act, Lands Minister Eugenie Sage says. The review work, being led by Associat...

By Rebecca Howard June 12 (BusinessDesk) - A $75 million cash injection into Callaghan Innovation's Gracefield Innovation Quarter in the Hutt Valley will focus on making sure the aging facilities - which have asbestos, leaking roofs, cladding issues and failing sewer pipes - a...

By Rebecca Howard June 7 (BusinessDesk) - Synlait Milk has filed for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court in an effort to remove covenants over its Pokeno site. The company says it is still confident it can reach a solution with the involved parties, but lodged its applicat...

By Rebecca Howard June 7 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand's building activity hit a three-year high in the March quarter as non-residential building volume growth continued to push higher and as residential construction was also strong.   The volume of building work put in plac...

By Paul McBeth June 6 (BusinessDesk) - Auckland house sales were down by about a fifth in May from a year earlier but prices were largely flat, in what the city's biggest realtor described as a subdued market.  Barfoot & Thompson said 821 houses were sold in the country's b...

By Jenny Ruth June 6 (BusinessDesk) - Falling house prices in all but the extreme outer suburbs of Auckland and the odd pockets of weakness elsewhere in the country are keeping a lid on national house price inflation. The traditional winter lull in the market is also helpin...

By Rebecca Howard June 4 (BusinessDesk) - Fletcher Building rejigged its full-year earnings before interest and tax guidance after completing the sale of its Formica business ahead of schedule, effectively lowering the top end of that guidance. The US$840 million sale of Fo...

By Paul McBeth June 4 (BusinessDesk) - Summerset Group has bought land to build two new retirement villages, and expects to invest about $290 million developing the sites.  The retirement village operator and developer bought an 11-hectare site in Whangarei and an eight-hec...

By Jenny Ruth May 30 (BusinessDesk) - The contentious $300 million Metro Sports centre in Christchurch and convention centres in Auckland and Christchurch are the main reasons for social building consents jumping 44 percent in the year ended April. Stats NZ construction sta...

By Pattrick Smellie May 29 (BusinessDesk) - The first in a two-part legislative process to create a central government body with powers to fast-track urban infrastructure and housing development in cities where growth issues are acute has been introduced to Parliament. Hous...

By Paul McBeth May 29 (BusinessDesk) - Asset Plus lifted its annual profit as its external management contract with Augusta Capital and a smaller debt load helped cut costs.  The property investor is repositioning its portfolio under the new oversight of Augusta, with a vie...

By Rebecca Howard May 29 (BusinessDesk) - Business confidence lifted slightly in May but was still in the doldrums, with residential construction intentions tumbling despite a capital gains tax being ruled out.  A net 32 percent of the 364 respondents to the ANZ business ou...

(Adds comment from Fletcher Building in the 14th paragraph, updates share price in final paragraph)  By Rebecca Howard May 29 (BusinessDesk) - Precinct Properties New Zealand says its high profile Commercial Bay development being built by Fletcher Building will now take eve...

By Paul McBeth May 29 (BusinessDesk) - Stride Property Group posted a 20 percent drop in annual profit due to a smaller property revaluation gain. It expects to pay a flat dividend for another year as it continues with a new strategy of managing other people's properties as we...

By Gavin Evans May 29 (BusinessDesk) - Advent Gold has deferred plans for an initial share offer on the ASX following the government’s rejection of a land sale for a new tailings operation at OceanaGold’s Waihi mine. The firm, which has an exploration permit near Reefton an...

By Pattrick Smellie May 28 (BusinessDesk) - Arvida Group is reporting a 17 percent increase in underlying profit after tax of $38.6 million for the year to March 31, citing new retirement villages acquired in previous years and higher resales of vacated units at higher margins...

By Jenny Ruth May 27 (BusinessDesk) - It’s no secret the construction industry is troubled, despite the ongoing boom. Building owners, often the government in one shape or form, have shifted more risk onto construction companies, turning already razor-thin profit margins into...