Residential building is alive and well

Residential building is in pretty good shape thanks to recent boosts including the Reserve Bank helping home buyers by dropping the loan-to value ratio (LVR) for a year, the Government underwriting affordable homes, and additional funding for trade training.

The result is unexpected and lively demand for new builds – more so than we’d dared imagine during the quiet days of the country’s lockdown.

Now our focus is on maintaining a steady flow of new homes so we can keep skilled workers on the job at Platinum Homes, and throughout the building industry.

We’re talking to lots of Kiwi first-home buyers keen to take advantage of low interest rates that are finally allowing them to step onto the property ladder.

There are also lots of intrepid expats being drawn back to New Zealand by the global uncertainty of Covid-19 – many of whom are bringing back hard-earned overseas cash and are keen to build a new home.

Then there are other Kiwis who’d been planning a big overseas trip, which has now gone on hold, and are instead putting their travel fund into a new home.

At Platinum Homes we’re cautiously optimistic about current demand. We’re building homes for more new clients than any of us in the industry were expecting in this current climate. This is also happening throughout the country, not just in the regions where we’d expect the greatest demand.

The residential construction sector makes up almost two thirds of all construction in New Zealand – well ahead of horizontal (roads, bridges, etc.) and vertical construction (schools, hospitals, office buildings etc.). Last year residential home building generated $24 billion for our national economy.

Statistics NZ data shows the number of new homes consented in the year ended June 2020 was up 8.1 per cent on the same period a year earlier. That’s encouraging news for everyone in the industry, from home builders to tradespeople – just the news we need after a difficult year.

At Platinum Homes we’re investing in the future of the residential construction sector in New Zealand. We’ve recently appointed a new special projects licensee focusing on large and commercial projects in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty. We’ve also appointed new licensees to take over the Wellington and Christchurch regions.

If you’ve ever thought about building a new home, now might just be a good time to take a closer look.