Is 2024 a good time to build a home in NZ?

The New Zealand housing market has been through a turbulent few years. As we came out of the pandemic in 2021, we saw record high housing prices and equally record low mortgage rates. The housing market boomed for both existing properties and new builds - we had more projects on the go than we could shake a stick at! 

We were blown away by the demand. But so were our suppliers. As construction materials like timber, plasterboard and even paint and nails ran low, their prices shot up - getting hold of GIB in 2022 was trickier than it had ever been in our 30 years of business! 

But at the start of 2023, the tide started to turn. Mortgage rates started to increase and demand for housing reduced. We were able to slow down and take a breath and materials started to become more readily available again. Phew!

Throughout all those tricky years, David Reid Homes continued to deliver award-winning homes to our clients all over the country.

Where are we now?

Let’s take stock and answer the question you came here for. Is 2024 a good time to build a house? New industry data suggests that it is. 

Mortgage rates are high. But you know what one of the best things about building a home is? You don’t have to borrow the sum of your mortgage from the start - only your deposit (which can be as low as 10% for a new build). If you kick off a home build now, you won’t need to lock in your rates for the 6-12 months it takes to build your home - once your home nears completion, that’s when you would borrow the sum of your mortgage and lock in your rates. 

As we write this article, the lowest 1-year rates from major NZ banks are 7.24%, but experts like Opes Partners predict this to reach 6% by October 2025. 

There are a lot of people who had plans to build their dream homes until mortgage rates spiked up, and those people have had to postpone their plans. Perhaps you’re one of them. But here’s the thing - we don’t want you to postpone for too long. When interest rates come down, those people who have been holding off will dive back in meaning longer wait times for homes. If you wait until interest rates drop right back, you might be waiting too long. 

If you start your build process now, you’re starting at a time when waiting times are low, building supplies are plentiful and interest rates are predicted to fall (potentially right in time for your build to complete). That’s why we think 2024 is an amazing time to start the process of building your dream home.

Ready to kick off the process? Contact us for a free consultation today.