Platinum Pacific Homes Looks at Shortage of Building Supplies in NZ Due to COVID-19

The building industry is grappling with a supply shortage of basic materials due to shipping delays, and it's all happening at a time of record demand for new homes. "A few years ago it would take a while for a subdivision to even fill and now there are just houses going everywhere. It's crazy," builder Tim Hayde told Newshub. This increase in demand for materials is putting pressure on the supply chain. 

Similarly, reports this week have shown that the COVID-19 restrictions are continuing to have an impact on the construction industry. When the national lockdown was imposed last year it was predicted that one of the effects, besides border restrictions and the global impact of COVID-19, would be a potential materials and labour shortage in the construction industry. 

There are numerous reports of construction projects being delayed due to a shortage of building supplies. There was always likely to be an impact on specialist products from overseas but there are shortages of even basic materials, particularly plumbing, electrical and glass supplies. The shortage of basic supplies clearly has a wide reaching impact across the industry. 

The usual remedy of seeking to source alternative products will become more and more difficult as these will also become scarce and of course, there is a time and cost implication of doing this. It is also necessary to get the approval of the consenting authority for a change of materials to ensure compliance with building consents and the building code, which causes further cost and delay. 

Master Builders chief executive David Kelly said more than half of their members report waiting longer for consents and inspections, which is costing the economy tens of millions. "If every one of our members' building projects is delayed by even one week, collectively our members and homeowners are incurring almost $100 million per annum in lost profits and extra costs. This is a phenomenal number, especially when you consider that just a one week delay is very conservative. This is a key part of our productivity conundrum and will be a key focus for the forum this year," he said. 

Platinum Pacific Homes have ensured, through forward planning and quality system processes, that they are able to get all the building materials they require for both their current projects and those in the near future. 

With this in mind, please take a moment to find out more about leaky home cladding in the Auckland area by visiting the website at www.platinumpacificgroup.co.nz .