New Zealand Professional Investment Services Firm

Forsyth Barr

We are proud to be a New Zealand owned firm, with 21 offices throughout the country and over 300 employees. We assist personal, institutional and corporate clients providing a full range of investment services.

Forsyth Barr is a foundation New Zealand Exchange firm (NZX) and accredited market participant. We have been confirmed by the Financial Markets Authority as a Qualifying Financial Entity (QFE).

Research is the cornerstone of our advice. We have one of New Zealand's leading teams of analysts. Our global affiliations ensure comprehensive research coverage of all major investment markets.

New Zealand Professional Investment Services Firm, Forsyth Barr

Equity Bottom-Up

<h2>Building Weekly</h2>
<h3>New Zealand</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Auckland house sales continue to slow, prices solid</strong> (Barfoot &amp; Thompson; Mar.): Auckland sales down -36.0% yoy, average/median prices remain strong +11.4%/+12.6% yoy</li>
<li><strong>FBU’s Fletcher Living buys the Ellerslie race track land</strong>: Sale price expected to be c. NZ$100m, with FBU applying for fast track approval to build 100’s of homes (<a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/ellerslie-racecourse-100m-deal-fletcher-living-to-buy-62-hectares-of-land-for-370-homes/O6EHH36YRJ7A4BSUCD3KXC5NPU/" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/ellerslie-racecourse-100m-deal-fletcher-living-to-buy-62-hectares-of-land-for-370-homes/O6EHH36YRJ7A4BSUCD3KXC5NPU/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1649724573822000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0a99wrzAolosCf-IHwq6OJ" rel="noopener">Link</a><span style="font-size: var(--content-font-size);">)</span></li>
<li><strong>FBU’s Winstone Wallboards now spot checking building sites</strong>: This follows stories of builders hoarding product (<a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/464554/building-supply-company-clamps-down-on-gib-hoarding" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/464554/building-supply-company-clamps-down-on-gib-hoarding&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1649724573822000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1hhOexDBJ8dOi1BLaNxUms" rel="noopener">Link</a><span style="font-size: var(--content-font-size);">)</span></li>
<li><strong>Infrastructure commission blames Government for house prices</strong>: Report claims lack of infrastructure investment and extra regulations lead to house price inflation (<a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/128260630/infrastructure-commission-politicians-and-nimbys-created-the-housing-crisis" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/128260630/infrastructure-commission-politicians-and-nimbys-created-the-housing-crisis&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1649724573822000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3deeaSmSf45fu-bNo5kbn_" rel="noopener">Link</a><span style="font-size: var(--content-font-size);">)</span></li>
</ul>
<h3>Australia</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Residential approvals improve after weak Jan</strong> (Feb.): +44% mom, -8% yoy (previous -27% mom, -24% yoy) including multi-tenanted +105% yoy and detached dwellings +16% yoy. Non-residential climbs sharply: +132% mom, +40% yoy. Past 12 months +19% yoy.</li>
<li><strong>House prices flattening out</strong> (CoreLogic-RPData, capital cities, Mar.): +0.3% mom, +16.1% yoy (previous +0.3% mom, +19.1% yoy).</li>
<li><strong>Activity levels bounce back after lockdown</strong> (Performance of Construction Index, Mar.): 56.5 (previous 52.4; contraction &lt;50&lt; expansion) with apartments 56.3 (previous 50.0), houses 54.2 (previous 58.3), commercial 63.3 (previous 58.8) and engineering 53.6 (previous 56.5).</li>
</ul>
<h3>International</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>US: Residential construction steady</strong> (Feb.): Residential +1.1% mom, +16.5% yoy (previous +1.7% mom, +14.8% yoy), non-residential -0.1% mom, +6.2% yoy (previous +1.5% mom, +4.5% yoy).</li>
<li><strong>US: construction employment rose in March</strong>: However further growth may be limited by labour availability and materials shortages (<a href="https://www.steelorbis.com/steel-news/latest-news/us-construction-employment-rises-in-march-1239659.htm" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.steelorbis.com/steel-news/latest-news/us-construction-employment-rises-in-march-1239659.htm&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1649724573822000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1sNAknfjoR4AVqYkN2hkwc" rel="noopener">Link</a><span style="font-size: var(--content-font-size);">)</span></li>
<li><strong>US: homebuilders impacted by war in Ukraine</strong>: (<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/31/economy/home-construction-oil-commodities-volatility/index.html" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/31/economy/home-construction-oil-commodities-volatility/index.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1649724573822000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3RdatkquZmtxzLRK2gAVXE" rel="noopener">Link</a><span style="font-size: var(--content-font-size);">)</span></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Chart of the week:&nbsp;Auckland housing inventory continues to build – +41.5% yoy</strong></p>
<p>Auckland available house listing vs. sales</p>
<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/268/025/original/image_29590391621649638873397.png?1649638871" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="268025"></figure>
<p>Source:&nbsp;Barfoot &amp; Thompson</p>

Building Weekly
New Zealand

Auckland house sales continue to slow, prices solid (Barfoot &amp; Thompson; Mar.): Auckland sales down -36.0% yoy, average/median prices remain strong +11.4%/+12.6% yoy
FBU’s Fletcher Living buys the Ellerslie race track land: Sale price expected to be c. NZ$100m, with FBU applying for fast track approval to build 100’s of homes (Link)
FBU’s Winstone Wallboards now spot checking building sites: This follows stories of builders hoarding product (Link)
Infrastructure commission blames Government for house prices: Report claims lack of infrastructure investment and extra regulations lead to house price inflation (Link)

Australia

Residential approvals improve after weak Jan (Feb.): +44% mom, -8% yoy (previous -27% mom, -24% yoy) including multi-tenanted +105% yoy and detached dwellings +16% yoy. Non-residential climbs sharply: +132% mom, +40% yoy. Past 12 months +19% yoy.
House prices flattening out (CoreLogic-RPData, capital cities, Mar.): +0.3% mom, +16.1% yoy (previous +0.3% mom, +19.1% yoy).
Activity levels bounce back after lockdown (Performance of Construction Index, Mar.): 56.5 (previous 52.4; contraction &lt;50&lt; expansion) with apartments 56.3 (previous 50.0), houses 54.2 (previous 58.3), commercial 63.3 (previous 58.8) and engineering 53.6 (previous 56.5).

International

US: Residential construction steady (Feb.): Residential +1.1% mom, +16.5% yoy (previous +1.7% mom, +14.8% yoy), non-residential -0.1% mom, +6.2% yoy (previous +1.5% mom, +4.5% yoy).
US: construction employment rose in March: However further growth may be limited by labour availability and materials shortages (Link)
US: homebuilders impacted by war in Ukraine: (Link)

Chart of the week:&nbsp;Auckland housing inventory continues to build – +41.5% yoy
Auckland available house listing vs. sales

Source:&nbsp;Barfoot &amp; Thompson

Fletcher Building

Building Weekly