698 days ago

What impact do you think lower building costs will have on the housing market?

Libby Totton Reporter from Waikato Times

The cost of building has reduced to the lowest level in around seven years, with one Hamilton developer saying building times have sped up as supply chain issues ease.

CoreLogic’s latest construction cost index put the annual price growth change at 2.4%, well below the 10-year average of 4.5%, the slowest annual rise since 2016 (2.2%), and the second slowest since records began in 2013.

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More messages from your neighbours
2 hours ago

Poll: Are Kiwis allergic to “exuberance”? 🥝

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

In The Post’s opinion piece on the developments set to open across Aotearoa in 2026, John Coop suggests that, as a nation, we’re “allergic to exuberance.”

We want to know: Are we really allergic to showing our excitement?

Is it time to lean into a more optimistic view of the place we call home? As big projects take shape and new opportunities emerge, perhaps it’s worth asking whether a little more confidence (and enthusiasm!) could do us some good.

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Are Kiwis allergic to “exuberance”? 🥝
  • 39.4% Yes
    39.4% Complete
  • 33.3% Maybe?
    33.3% Complete
  • 27.3% No
    27.3% Complete
165 votes
4 days ago

Principal defends $17k overseas trip as research

Libby Totton Reporter from Waikato Times

A Hamilton principal whose $17,000 trip to Hawaii and Alaska was highlighted in an report on questionable school spending says he was doing doctoral work on how streaming affects students.

Fairfield College principal Richard Crawford is defending the trip, saying it was his first sabbatical in his 19-year career as a principal and contributed to learning he’d be applying to both his school, and potentially others, through his research.

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3 days ago

Festive cheer, fiscal fear - and questions about growth

Libby Totton Reporter from Waikato Times

Hamilton’s boom-town status has been called into question as Hamilton City Council grapples with the need to bring rates within Government mandated limits.

Councillor Andrew Bydder said assumptions about relentless population growth may be “out of date”, and called for a review of the issue early next year.

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