Forecast says building activity to return to pre-COVID levels

“Several indicators show that the unprecedented post-covid demand for residential building, which saw record numbers of building consents issued, is alleviating and significantly reducing the demand on the sector,” says Micheal Warren, Manager System Strategy and Performance.

“The overall activity forecast is positive, short-term reductions across various measures in the report suggest activity fluctuations in the sector are being less affected by COVID-19 and returning to a more usual pattern.

“Residential building activity is forecast to return to levels that align with the sector’s capacity to deliver buildings ready for occupation, settling the sector into a more sustainable level where supply and demand is much closer than it has been in recent years.

“Recovery from the extreme weather events in early 2023 and works to increase New Zealand’s resilience to future weather events, have resulted in a forecast for strong growth in the infrastructure pipeline over the next few years and strong activity in the regions where we expect to see this building activity commence.

“There are strong non-residential and infrastructure pipelines of work including works supporting education, health, fresh water, transport, and subdivisions creating space for future residential and non-residential building activity.

“The aim of the report is to provide awareness of the expected pipeline of work to support the sector’s strategic planning, investment in skills and equipment and coordination of construction procurement to meet the sector’s future needs. Having foresight into these areas could help mitigate uncertainty and allow for better preparedness across the sector.” said Micheal Warren.

MBIE commissions the National Construction Pipeline Report, which is jointly prepared each year by the Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ) and Pacifecon (NZ) Ltd (Pacifecon), this is the 11th annual edition of this report.

You can find the key findings of the report here: 

National Construction Pipeline Report 2023 - Key findings

You can read the full report here: