How young is New Zealand's building industry?
From the public NZ Companies Register. Updated 12 June 2026. Cite with a link.
Of the 145,562 construction-sector companies on the New Zealand Companies Register in our directory, 28.9% have existed for less than five years and the median company is just 9.5 years old. Almost a third of the industry has no long-term track record a homeowner can check.
145,562
construction companies on the register
28.9%
are less than 5 years old
9.5 yrs
median company age
34.6%
are based in Auckland
Company age, in four buckets
Age matters because most of the checks a homeowner can run (liquidations, court history, director track record) need a history to check. A company registered last year has none. That is not a red flag on its own, but it is worth knowing before you hand over a deposit.
| Company age | Companies | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under 3 years | 25,567 | 17.6% |
| 3 to 5 years | 16,380 | 11.3% |
| 5 to 10 years | 33,841 | 23.3% |
| Over 10 years | 69,215 | 47.7% |
New building companies formed each year
Formation of building companies surged after Covid. The 2021 peak is visible below, and the rate has stayed well above the mid-2010s ever since. Every one of those young companies is quoting on someone's build right now.
| Year incorporated | Companies still on the register |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 4,965 |
| 2016 | 5,731 |
| 2017 | 6,060 |
| 2018 | 6,385 |
| 2019 | 6,599 |
| 2020 | 7,456 |
| 2021 | 9,128 |
| 2022 | 7,796 |
| 2023 | 8,320 |
| 2024 | 7,849 |
| 2025 | 9,264 |
| 2026 (year to date) | 3,907 |
Counts are companies currently on the register by incorporation year, so older years understate how many were actually formed (some have since been removed).
Where the industry lives
| Location | Companies | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Auckland | 50,359 | 34.6% |
| Christchurch | 12,648 | 8.7% |
| Wellington | 5,325 | 3.7% |
| Hamilton | 5,102 | 3.5% |
| Tauranga | 3,982 | 2.7% |
| Lower Hutt | 2,730 | 1.9% |
| Dunedin | 2,224 | 1.5% |
| Whangarei | 2,006 | 1.4% |
| Palmerston North | 1,920 | 1.3% |
| New Plymouth | 1,663 | 1.1% |
The trade mix
Trade labels below are our own classification, derived from company names, so treat them as indicative rather than official. The register itself does not record a trade.
By region
The same numbers, city by city. Each page is computed from the register for that region.
Method and sources
Figures are computed from CheckMyBuilder's directory snapshot of 145,562 construction-sector companies on the public NZ Companies Register, refreshed regularly. 145,003 were in "Registered" status on the date shown. Age statistics use the official incorporation date. We publish aggregates only and never name an individual company in this report.
Citing this page: you are welcome to use these figures with attribution. Suggested credit: "Source: CheckMyBuilder analysis of the NZ Companies Register, 12 June 2026", linked to this page.
Got a quote from one of these 145,562 companies?
See their public record before you sign anything: status, history, insolvency and court signals.