Look out: Carters warns of building sector product price rises up to 27.5% early next year

Thinking of a home renovation, a new deck, an addition or even a new house?

Well - look out, because prices which are already substantially up in the sector are about to rise even further.

After major product price increases across the building sector lately, insiders got a further glimpse into what's about to hit them early next year.

Major building product supplier Carters has written to customers advising that within the next three months, they'll have to pay more for many items.

One manufacturers' silicone sealant product price will rise 27.5 per cent from February 1, Carters said.

The letter from Carters national support office on Harris Rd, East Tamaki, named many products and the exact price increases planned.

Timber, fastening systems, polycarbonate roofing, building wraps, underlay, laminated goods and door hardware products are all listed by the national supplier as products that will soon cost more.

"As a supply partner in your business, we wish to give you prior notification of upcoming market-wide price movements affecting various suppliers," Carters wrote.

That national business has 50 stores throughout New Zealand as well as nine manufacturing plants.

Look out - further price rises to hit the construction sector. Photo / Duncan Brown

From February 1:

• Bostik product prices will rise by 6.85 per cent in their product range including Silicone sealants "which will incur a 27.5 per cent price increase"';

• Fastening system business Ecko product prices will rise from 9.5 per cent to 19.5 per cent across their entire range, Carters advised;

• Thermakraft supplies integrated building wrap systems for passive control of air and moisture in buildings. Its prices will rise 8.5 per cent across their product range except for Ausmesh which will be up 20 per cent;

• Marshall Innovations supplies roof underlay, building wrap, construction tapes and flashings and many other products. Its prices will rise by 10 per cent across their range of products;

• Ampelite manufacturers corrugated plastic polycarbonate fibreglass skylight tinted clear roofing sheeting. Its prices will be up 8 per cent across the range;

• NZ Wood Products plywood prices will rise by 15 per cent, Carters warned.

From March 1:

• Prices at Laminex, which makes and supplies laminated surface and other products, will rise 4.5 per cent across their range of Strand products, Carters said;

• PermaPine is a leading manufacturer and supplier of Roundwood and CCA treated outdoor timber products in New Zealand. Its prices will rise 5-10 per cent;

• Prices from door hardware business Allegion will rise 10 per cent;

• Nelson Pine's GoldenEdge raw medium density fibreboard product prices will rise 6-7 per cent, Carters warned.

Two days ago, the Herald reported NZ Certified Builders Association board member as saying he believed costs and pressures on builders were the worst they've been in 40 years.

Mike Craig said small builders were doing it tough up and down the country. Many were finding it impossible to plan their projects and when they should book contractors because they didn't know what date materials would arrive onsite, he said.

Craig said he has been working seven days a week for the past four months trying to manage all the logistical challenges at his sites.

CoreLogic chief property economist Kelvin Davidson also said costs rose at double the typical pace in the third quarter of this year.

"The Cordell Construction Cost Index reveals a national increase of 1.6 per cent in the three months to September 2021, down from the 2.2 per cent rise in the previous quarter, but still well above the typical quarterly increase of about 0.8 per cent," he said.

The Government last month asked the Commerce Commission to investigate the supply of building materials and whether the sector can operate more efficiently.

But CoreLogic's Davidson said cost pressures aren't likely to ease in the short term.