March 2025
In this newsletter:
Industry news at a glance
BIF Update
Forsyth Barr: news wrap
Low Damage Seismic Design: vol. 1 now available
PVC: New Zealand's first PVC recovery facility opens
New Zealand Infrastructure Commission: report and webinar on preparing for natural hazard risks
NZ Herald: Why is the housing recovery taking so long?
MBIE: New climate resilient homes quick guides
INDUSTRY NEWS AT A GLANCE
Going for Housing Growth: Government announces "new and improved" infrastructure funding and financing tools
(Photo: New Zealand Herald; Mark Mitchell)
Infrastructure Priorities Programme: applications for round two now open
The submission process for the Infrastructure Priorities Programme, via Te Waihanga
StatsNZ: Home consents up in the month of January 2025
(via StatsNZ)
BIF Updates
BIF Chief Executive, Julien Leys, recently travelled to the USA to attend the International Builders Show in Las Vegas. It was a three-day convention featuring some 2,400 exhibitors and over 80,000 attendees across 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space, making it one of the biggest annual gatherings for the industry across the world. This year, the convention focussed on enhancing accessibility and embracing a new level of weather-resistant building. From a design perspective, texture and bold colours are making a comeback, particularly in grooves and warm metallics. There was a particularly strong AI presence, too, with exhibitors exploring ways to utilise such a powerful tool. Whether it be bridging the gap between designers and manufacturers or streamlining complex orders, the industry is rising to harness the capabilities of AI, and it is exciting to see.
Among interesting discussion points was the fact that remodelling of homes in the USA market is currently at an all-time high compared to buying and building of new homes. There were also concerns raised about imminent tariffs and how they could impact prices of concrete, timber, and steel. As a whole, the event was insightful and future-driven with plenty of interesting exhibits. If you're interested in knowing more about the International Building Show and what Julien learnt, you can contact him by clicking here.
Above: a panel discussion at IBS, via Julien Leys
Below: a small taste of some of the exhibits at IBS, via Julien Leys
Meanwhile, back home in New Zealand, BIF recently shared the news of the election of a new Chair, Karin Cunningham, and two new deputy Chairs, Stephen Walker and David Deavoll. For more information about these appointments, click here.
Incoming Chair of BIF, Karin Cunningham. Photo: supplied
Forsyth Barr: news wrap
Forsyth Barr Investment Service releases regular news highlights for the building and construction industry. Some notable headlines from their recent New Zealand news wraps include:
House sales and prices are inching lower
Net migration continues slowing
Concrete production solidifies lower
RNZB cutting the OCR
Weak 1H25 results
Government infrastructure fund has changed management
Takapuna intensification plans
Solid start to 2025 for residential consents
Auckland sales rise, prices fall, inventory climbs
Onwards and upwards for national housing inventories
Mortgage lending is continuing to rise
Construction intentions remain robust
Government changes are aiming to boost housing and infrastructure growth
Forsyth Barr also releases reports in equity research about the nature of the building sector in New Zealand. You can view a copy of the January 2025 publication here, or the February 2025 publication here.
Visit www.forsythbarr.co.nz for more
Low Damage Seismic Design vol. 1 now available
Low Damage Seismic Design (LDSD) volume one is now available. Developed by MBIE, the sector and Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake (NHC), the resources are designed to provide guidance on designing buildings that perform better in an earthquake, ensuring their continued use after an earthquake event. Click here for more information or here to access the resource.
PVC: New Zealand's first PVC recovery facility opens
BIF NZ Chief Executive Julien Leys attended this week the launch of PRNZ (Plastic Recovery New Zealand), which is New Zealand’s first PVC recovery facility. PRNZ is a joint venture partnership between Waste Management New Zealand (WMNZ) and Aliaxis New Zealand.
The PRNZ facility in Penrose, Auckland, can process both PVC and HDB plastics, keeping thousands of tons of materials (from pipes to spouts and gutters), much of which is used in building and construction, out of landfill.
The PRNZ facility received nearly $2.5 million in funding from the Ministry for the Environment's (MfE) as part of exploring potential waste minimisation projects. The PRNZ facility will minimise plastic waste, support circular solutions, and improve waste management strategies, setting a gold standard for industry responsibility in sustainability.
“This is a very worthwhile and innovative project to reduce building waste and ensure that materials of value stay in the circular economy - innovative plastic recycling solutions are key to building a circular future and the opening of this large-scale facility is a big step in the right direction,” said Leys.
Leys adds that the recirculation of plastics is crucial in the building supply chain.
“It has been a big issue in the building and construction industry, so I’m delighted New Zealand is now making these sorts of investments to reduce waste and emissions.”
Pictured: Evan Maehl, left, CEO of Waste Management New Zealand, with Julien Leys.
New Zealand Infrastructure Commission: report and webinar on preparing for natural hazard risks
The New Zealand Infrastructure Commission recently hosted a webinar to talk through the findings of a report on preparing infrastructure for natural hazard risks. You can watch it here.
NZ Herald: Why is the housing recovery taking so long?
Liam Dann of the New Zealand Herald recently published an interesting article about housing recovery and New Zealand's current account deficits are shrinking. You can read the article here.
Please note that a NZ Herald Premium account may be required.
MBIE: New climate resilient homes quick guides
MBIE has recently published two quick guides providing practical and affordable strategies to help homeowners and their designers make decisions to make homes more resilient to the effects of climate change, when planning to build or buy a new home. One is about strategies to improve flood resilience and ensure weathertightness, and the other is about strategies to protect against higher temperatures and overheating.
Click here for the flooding version or here for the high temperatures version. Each is available to download for free.
If you would like to be on the mailing list to receive our BIF monthly newsletters directly, please let us know by emailing office@bifnz.co.nz
Copyright © 2025 BIF All rights reserved.
