Aggregates are important. But how important is clouded by a lack of quality data being collected. Based on current production figures and survey response rates, the actual amount of aggregates produced over the last 12 years might be 49% higher than reported. Read

Concrete roads are well suited for high intensity traffic and are more cost effective in the long run according to a new economic report. Read

We are introducing a new indicator for first home buyer activity – First Home Loans. This article explores first home buyer activity in the housing market from a few different angles and introduces our new measure. Read

Two surveys over the last week have shown rebounding business confidence, despite there being little evidence of an economic recovery any time soon, apart from the start of the easing cycle in interest rates. Along with the improvement in overall confidence, we delve into the figures for the buildin... Read

Infrastructure investment remains a hot topic across the country, with increasing demands for investment, but more limited amounts of funding available. High cost escalation for network infrastructure in recent years have contributed to a need to spend more than anticipated to get less than anticipated. Read

Housing affordability is an important issue affecting the wellbeing of households. Recently, we dove deeper on housing affordability for two Waikato Region clients. This article explores several new ways of exploring local housing affordability to inform decision making. Read

The commercial property market has always been more difficult to track and analyse than the housing market. Whereas the latter has a wealth of data available from REINZ, CoreLogic, and other sources, much of our non-residential work relies on collecting piecemeal data from several different commerci... Read

Despite being a relatively small country internationally, New Zealand is geographically diverse enough that there is never a single economic "story". One example of this can be seen if we divide the country up into "Metro", "Provincial" and "Rural" areas and examine rental affordability. Read

The government has relaxed tax rules for property investors, and will do so again in April next year, and it has also reduced the bright-line test. But since March, seasonally adjusted house sales volumes have slipped to a 15-month low. Our analysis looks at whether the government’s changes are like... Read

New analysis by leading New Zealand economic consultancy Infometrics has found that the short-term rental accommodation (STRA) sector has a limited effect on rental prices and no significant effect on house prices across New Zealand’s major urban areas, with population and interest rates having the greatest influence on rents and house prices. Read