Author Curreen

Housing
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Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk’s proposal to reduce insulation standards is misguided and a step backwards that threatens the health, well-being, and economic stability of New Zealanders, writes Jennifer Hamlin Penk’s proposal comes in the wake of significant improvements to insulation and glazing requirements introduced in the H1 part of the Building Code (May 2023). Continue →
Environment
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A new industry-led initiative aims to reduce the environmental impact of New Zealand’s buildings, which contribute up to 20% of the national carbon footprint The Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ) announced a partnership with Masterspec to develop a national online resource of carbon data for construction materials and products. Continue →
Housing
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Housing Minister Chris Bishop has announced his ‘Going for Housing Growth’ policy which he says with flood the market with new homes, both up and out, but local councils say they weren’t consulted and are wondering how they will afford it New housing requires roads, footpaths, green space, and services, which are currently really expensive for councils and ratepayers, says Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) President Sam Broughton. Continue →
Compliance & Legal
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The Government has announced an extensive review of the management of seismic risk in existing buildings to ensure it is being managed effectively and in a workable, proportionate way At a high level, the Review will include: considering society’s expectations and willingness to pay to mitigate the risk of injury and death in an earthquake, and for improving the resilience of buildings over time recommending regulatory responses that balance life safety risks against the costs of regulation and impact on private property owners identifying barriers to meeting regulatory requirements and the types of support or incentives that would help building owners to better manage seismic risk considering how outcomes from seismic risk requirements align with broader Government objectives. Continue →
Development
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Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has opened Residio, New Zealand’s largest build-to-rent development so far, though recent legislative change is expected to enable far more in the near future Located next to Auckland’s popular Sylvia Park, the 295 apartments from Kiwi Property is designed to be a community for renters only and has been created with the unique needs of these people in mind. Continue →
Property Trends
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On a national level, house prices have stayed relatively stagnant over the past two months, but that doesn’t tell the whole story according to CoreLogic data for each city across the country Home value growth in New Zealand has completely petered out in the past two months, with values dipping by 0.2% in May, after a minor 0.1% fall in April. Continue →
Planning
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Six storey buildings could be permitted in downtown Mount Maunganui after Tauranga City Commission rejected the recommendations of an independent hearing panel, but one developer is concerned about the proposed planning rules By Zita Campbell, Local Democracy Reporter Tauranga City Council is proposing to raise the allowable building heights in Mount Maunganui North as part of Plan Change 33. Continue →
Technology
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Many of the results and conclusions drawn from those surveyed in Australia in the Design and Make report will be equally important and offer meaningful directions to New Zealand operators in this category says Autodesk Autodesk’s State of Design & Make report studied 5400 business leaders worldwide – including 451 in Australia – in industries that comprise the Design and Make category. Continue →
Property Trends
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The proportion of short-term fixed mortgages has reached record levels, signalling that mortgage rates have peaked and that the medium-term outlook is downwards, CoreLogic NZ Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson says The CoreLogic NZ April Housing Chart Pack shows that 56% of new loans by value taken out in February were fixed on one-year terms compared to 36% in December. Continue →
Property Trends
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Residential property values have remained relatively flat throughout the first quarter of 2024, amidst a glut of listings and an ongoing dearth of sales across much of New Zealand, the latest QV House Price Index finds The average home value has increased nationally by 2.2% to $924,734 over the first three months of 2024 – a small increase on the 1.3% quarterly home value increase reported at the end of February. Continue →
Housing
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Stats NZ has released its experimental dataset on construction timelines and completion rates, but Shane Martin, Principal Economist at MRCagney, points out that demolitions are still a missing piece of the puzzle The dataset from Stats NZ tells us how many consented dwellings (i.e., Continue →
Planning
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The X-minute city is a global urban planning concept intended to challenge thinking on how we develop, build and manage neighbourhoods, Bayleys says in its latest Total Property publication   Creating urban neighbourhoods where amenities and services are all within easy walking distance of where people live, is bringing value upside. Continue →
Construction
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There has been a significant increase in the number of women joining the construction industry, however, they are still significantly underrepresented, making up just 15% of the trades and construction industry When Rebecca Gornall, Health and Safety Manager at Mansons TCLM Limited, first started her role in commercial construction six years ago she was one of the only females on site. Continue →
Housing
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Housing Minister Chris Bishop wants cities growing ‘out’ and ‘up’ – but with councils soon able to opt out of the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS), Better Things Are Possible author Malcolm McCracken explores how the ‘up’ can be achieved instead     Enabling greater capacity in our plans through intensification is key for unlocking greater housing supply and in turn affordability, as recent studies in Auckland and Lower Hutt have demonstrated. Continue →
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