Affordability

What affordability means for BRANZ research

Affordable housing is about more than just upfront build costs. It includes how much it costs to maintain, operate and live in a home over its full lifetime. 

Through the affordability focus area, BRANZ invests the Building Research Levy in research that helps the building and construction sector understand and reduce whole-of-life housing costs, while still delivering safe, healthy and resilient buildings. 

BRANZ focuses on reducing costs across the building lifecycle by supporting productivity, avoiding costly failures and providing trusted tools that support better decisions.

Why affordability matters

Housing affordability shapes everyday life in Aotearoa New Zealand. It influences whether people can put down roots, stay healthy, and plan for the future – and it is a major challenge for the building and construction sector. 

Rising land, build and maintenance costs, combined with delays and compliance uncertainty, increase risk for the sector and drive prices higher for households. As a result, New Zealand has some of the least affordable housing in the OECD, with lower income households spending 40–50% of their income on housing.

What BRANZ is working to change

BRANZ is supporting research that helps designers, builders, regulators and occupants better understand the drivers of housing cost over time, make informed choices that balance cost, performance and durability, and reduce avoidable costs across the building lifecycle.

Types of research BRANZ supports

BRANZ focuses on where we can add the most value – providing trusted evidence, testing products and developing systems to avoid costly failures, and delivering practical tools that support faster, more confident decisions. 

BRANZ invests the Building Research Levy in affordability research across three connected research goals:

• reducing the lifetime costs of housing
• tools and technologies that lift sector productivity
• tailored housing solutions that reflect how New Zealanders live.