Construction record passes $9b
Construction of hotels, motels, shops, bars and restaurants surged in Auckland, helping to take the region to a record high of $9.15 billion of building work in 2018.
The building boom was 16 per cent higher than in 2017 and more than double the national growth rate of 7.3 per cent, according to Statistics New Zealand data.
Auckland hogs about 40 per cent of all New Zealand construction work which reached $22.78b in 2018, 7.3 per cent more than in 2017.
Non-residential building soared by almost 20 per cent to $3.1b in the City of Sails, eclipsing residential building’s increase of 14 per cent to $6.05 billion.
Building cost inflation was about 3.9 per cent for residential buildings and 4.5 per cent for non-residential.
The construction of accommodation buildings like hotels, motels, boarding houses and prisons in Auckland surged 78 per cent – or $212 million – to $485m in 2018.
That was streets ahead of the second busiest region for construction of accommodation which was Canterbury with $117m of work happening. In Auckland the construction of shopping malls, restaurants, and bars
52 per cent to $419m.
The second busiest region for retail construction was Canterbury with $199m of work but its total has fallen 11 per cent from 2017.
The construction industry is crying out for workers with leading job climbed sites Trade Me and Seek each having more than 850 job listings in Auckland. The jobs range from general labourers with little or no experience to foreman on construction sites, quantity surveyors, engineers, and a large range of tradesmen from drainlayers to concrete placers. The websites reveal more jobs for skilled and professionals in the construction industry than the unskilled. Seek showed 322 foreman jobs, 242 engineeringrelated positions, 166 quantity surveyor and other surveyor positions, compared with 47 labourer jobs and 58 carpenter positions.
Government department Immigration New Zealand’s website has on its immediate and construction skills shortage lists building inspectors and surveyors, construction project managers, foremen and supervisors, civil, structural and mechanical engineers, carpenters, joiners, roof tilers, plasterers, scaffolders and stonemasons, welders, bricklayers and glaziers.
Canterbury held on to the second spot with $3.7b of total building work in 2018, but it was 9 per cent lower than in 2017.
Waikato is the third biggest region for construction with $2.07b worth of building happening in 2018, 5.3 per cent more than in 2017.
The capital remains fourth with a total of $1.9b of building activity in 2018, 7 per cent ahead of 2017.