Blown Timelines, Budgets Flagged As Biggest Concern For Homeowners

Escalating build costs and project delays were the two biggest concerns for those building homes over the last two years according to a survey released by Master Builders.

The insights come from the annual State of the Sector Survey, which collates the views of over 1,000 sector professionals and homeowners who have built or completed a significant renovation in the last two years. They’re asked questions about their experience building, the economy, critical issues they were facing and their outlook for the sector.

According to respondents, 46 percent flagged price escalation as their biggest concern, followed by project delays at 34 percent.

Master Builders Chief Executive, David Kelly, says the two issues tend to come as a pair.

“Time is money and given the recent supply chain issues, product shortages and ongoing concerns with consenting – it’s no wonder those people building or renovating have had heightened concerns about blowing the budget and timeline.”

Whilst consenting remains a key issue for the sector and homeowners, there have been marginal improvements over the last 12 months. This may however reflect slower demand taking pressure off the Building Consent Authorities (BCAs).

With that said, 85 percent of the sector claimed they had experienced project delays, and well over half said those delays had resulted in increased costs for their firm and their clients.

Delays of more than 5 weeks were the most common, experienced by 47 percent of respondents and 40 percent said they had experienced delays of three to four weeks.

“We know consenting has been an issue for about 20 years, and it’s getting in the way of productivity. Part of the problem is that there’s very little consistency with 67 BCAs spread across the country. So, there are weeks of delays and the same consent, or the same plan could be put to two different councils and get quite a different outcome,” Kelly says.

The State of the Sector survey also looked at the key drivers of sustainable building.

Forty-five percent of homeowners reported they were willing to pay a premium for a more sustainable home with the main reason for doing so being reduced long-term running costs. Concern for the environment was the second reason given.

For those that weren’t open to building a sustainable home – 77 percent said it was down to cost, with a lack of information trailing behind on 14 percent.

“A few extra costs up front can result in lower running costs down the track. There’s a need to get better at informing homeowners of the potential return on their investment. This is the role for government, and something we have been asking for some time now.

“However, as highlighted in the Master Builders Election Manifesto, we need to manage the cost of sustainable options – because it’s proving to be a barrier for both the residential and commercial sector,” Kelly says.

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