WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2017
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Building consents double With house prices continuing to rise throughout the region, the idea of building seems to be the most logical way to go for some prospective homeowners. EMILY NORMAN In the past 12 months the number of new residential building consents has doubled on the year prior, with Masterton boasting the largest growth. From September 2016 to August this year, 130 new residential building consents have been issued in the Masterton district, compared to 64 consents over the 12 months prior. Carterton and South Wairarapa have also seen a doubling in the number of new residential building consents issued, with the tally jumping from 56 to 100 in Carterton, and 55 to 106 in South Wairarapa. A1 Homes master builder Paul Southey said construction businesses and sub-contractors had been “extremely busy” with the increased workload which had caused delays “across the board”. And while being extremely busy was “fantastic”, it came with its challenges, he said. “There is a lot of stress out there because of the huge number of consents, and there is definitely stress on everybody to try to complete the job, and get it done in a timely matter, and then move on to the next one.” He said it was hard to employ
people in the region because of a shortage of tradespeople from electricians to plumbers and even digger operators. “We’re getting delays from drawing the plans, to finding roading contractors, all the way through to the actual building process.” He said the main factor driving the demand for building in Wairarapa was the jump in residential house prices. “House prices are going bananas. The cost of an existing house is drawing closer to the cost of building. “So, people are coming in and thinking they might as well build a house.” He said the last time the playing field had been that even between buying an existing house and building one was “with the last building boom 10 years ago” – “but it feels like we’re busier now than we were back then.” Mr Southey said the most common questions he was asked by prospective homeowners were whether the town they were building in was motorhome friendly, and whether the train service would suit their commuting lifestyle.
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