After a post-lockdown boom, Taranaki consents start to flatten out

After two years of construction boom, Taranaki is now experiencing a slowdown in construction consents – and builders are worried for the long-term future.

For the year to August, 667 building consents were issued in Taranaki – a sharp drop from the record-breaking 856 recorded for the same period in 2021, but slightly above the 658 issued in 2020.

Taranaki Registered Master Builders president Dilip Patel said the industry nationwide had seen a slowdown in enquiries – but most builders had been expecting it.

“I think for most people, their workload for this year and maybe even the beginning of 2023 is still strong, but there is grave concerns around workload beyond that, so the second quarter of 2023 and onwards.”

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Supply shortages have dogged the industry, with sheets of Gib selling for six times their usual price on TradeMe earlier this year.

But there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel around product supply, Patel said.

“For most of this year, and even last year, many people have been battling with the availability of products. We’re starting to get through that, so that’s great.

“But in certain trades, we’re still seeing a real lack of availability of tradespeople, particularly around things like tiling and brick and block laying.”

Product price increases also appeared to have settled – or are not as bad as they had been – but there was no indication that they would drop to previous levels , Patel said, meaning higher prices are likely here to stay.

In the New Plymouth District, 98 building consents were lodged in September – a drop from the 217 recorded for the same month in 2021.

The past six months have all seen lower numbers of consents lodged than corresponding months in 2021.

In South Taranaki, new build consent applications had remained “reasonably steady”, a district council spokesperson said.

“For example, we have already received 21 building consents for October, one more than the same time last year, and we are only half way through the month.”

However, the district did experience a dip in building consents in August when only nine were recieved, this jumped slightly to 16 in September.

In Stratford district, ten consents were received in September, while August saw none.

Despite the slowdown Taranaki remains an “insulated environment”, Patel said.

“What national economists say doesn’t always apply to us. I think people should still stay confident in Taranaki.

“We do tend to bounce back quicker or remain fairly insulated.”

Patel said people went into the first lockdown in 2020 “really concerned” about the future of the building industry.

“We went into lockdown thinking there’s going to be no work when we come out of this but the complete opposite happened and everything went crazy.”

While demand sprung back the “turmoil and unknown” since the lockdowns has taken a toll on many working in the industry, Patel said

“We’re doing a lot of work around providing support where we can to those that need it.”

This year alone more than 100 construction companies have been placed into liquidation across New Zealand, with 25% of all company liquidations in May coming from the construction sector.