After a challenging period for residential construction, the 2026 Master Builders House of the Year regional winners provide a timely reminder of the ambition, craftsmanship and quality being delivered by New Zealand’s best builders. Now attention turns to which homes will emerge as the country’s national Supreme winners.
While the residential market has tested builders over the past few years, the homes recognised in the 2026 Registered Master Builders House of the Year regional awards tell a much more positive story about the capability of the industry.
Across New Zealand, this year’s Supreme winners showcase sophisticated design and exceptional workmanship, from ambitious new homes on difficult sites to beautifully resolved renovations where old and new seamlessly come together.
They also show that exceptional building isn’t confined to one style, location or price bracket.
In Canterbury, M O Brown Builders took out Supreme House of the Year over $1 million and the Mitre 10 Trade Craftsmanship Award for a home in Cashmere, Christchurch. Cedar and corten steel give the exterior a strong material character, while inside, full-height doors, detailed stonework, tiled bathrooms and carefully resolved indoor-outdoor connections demonstrate the level of finish that impressed the judges.
But Canterbury’s under-$1 million winner made an equally strong impression. T Dunn Builders took Supreme House of the Year under $1 million for a home in Loburn, Rangiora, where the judges singled out the timber work, individuality and consistency of the execution.
The region’s Supreme Renovation went to LM Architectural Builders for a Merivale home where the challenge was very different: working on a tight site while creating an addition that felt as though it had always belonged to the original house.
Further south, Trinity Construction + Projects won Southern Supreme House of the Year over $1 million and the Mitre 10 Trade Craftsmanship Award for a home at Lower Shotover, Queenstown.
Set in a demanding environment, the architecturally designed home brings together schist, metal and cedar, requiring careful control of alignments, junctions and detailing throughout the build.
Southern’s under-$1 million Supreme winner, built by Gibson Builders at Northlake, Wānaka, was the builder’s own home. The judges praised the consistency of the workmanship and its combination of bagged brick, Abodo and vertical metal cladding with a carefully detailed interior.
And Hunter & Craig Architectural Design & Build took Southern’s Supreme Renovation title for a particularly challenging project in Bannockburn. The builder had to protect and support an original mud-brick cottage while adding a contemporary metal-clad extension, retaining the history and character of the original building while giving it a new life.
BIG BUILDS, DIFFICULT SITES
Some of the 2026 winners also demonstrate just how much construction expertise can sit behind the finished photographs.
In Auckland, Northland and Coromandel, Create + Construct won Supreme House of the Year over $1 million for a home on Waiheke Island.
The cliffside project required major retaining work to create a building platform, while the island location added another layer of complexity to getting equipment, materials and specialist trades to site. The finished result earned Create + Construct not only the Supreme title but also a Special Award.
Stark Building took the region’s Supreme House under $1 million title for a Milldale home, while T.P. Builders won Supreme Renovation of the Year for the restoration and extension of a historically listed Birkenhead villa.
That renovation demanded exceptional precision. The original home was restored while a highly detailed contemporary addition was introduced, with large hardwood joinery and carefully resolved interior details leaving little margin for error.
The Cook Strait results provide another example of builders responding to difficult sites and very different briefs.
Planit Construction won Supreme House of the Year over $1 million and the Mitre 10 Trade Craftsmanship Award for a Martinborough home, while Wellington’s Class E Build took Supreme House under $1 million for a home in Roseneath.
The Roseneath project had to respond to a demanding hillside site and an exposed weather environment, yet still came in within the under-$1 million category. Judges praised the consistency of the execution and the way its design, materials and construction responded to the site.
Cook Strait’s Supreme Renovation went to You Build for a Nelson project combining heritage restoration with a contemporary addition. Original elements of the villa were retained and restored while the new work introduced the space, light and functionality expected of a modern home.
QUALITY AT EVERY LEVEL
The same breadth is evident elsewhere.
In the Central North Island, Colab Building won Supreme House of the Year over $1 million for a home in Haumoana, Hastings. The project also took the region’s Outdoor Living Excellence Award.
Form by Terry Clegg won Supreme House under $1 million for a semi-rural home at Huirangi, New Plymouth. The company also won the Mitre 10 Trade Craftsmanship Award for a separate Bell Block home, where judges highlighted the accuracy and consistency of work from the foundations and retaining walls through to claddings, wall panelling, doors, hardware and trims.
In the Bay of Plenty and Central Plateau, Calley Homes took both Supreme House of the Year and the Mitre 10 Trade Craftsmanship Award for a large beachfront residence at Pāpāmoa. Three building forms, a glazed atrium and a sheltered central courtyard were carefully arranged around a challenging coastal site.
Reside Construction won the region’s Supreme Renovation title for a Waihī Beach bach that was reworked within its existing footprint. The project retained the character and relaxed feel of the original holiday home while improving its space, performance and connection to its coastal setting.
And in Waikato, White Wood Homes claimed both Supreme House of the Year and the Mitre 10 Trade Craftsmanship Award for a home at Rangitahi, Raglan. The judges praised the way craftsmanship, interior design and smart-home technology had been integrated consistently throughout the project.
G.D Pringle Building took Waikato’s Supreme Renovation title for a Cambridge home where existing character features were retained and recreated as previously disconnected spaces were opened up and a new two-bedroom and ensuite extension was added.
QUALITY THROUGH A CHANGING MARKET
The regional winners are an impressive reminder of the depth of skill within New Zealand’s residential construction industry.
They arrive as the outlook for new home building is beginning to improve. Stats NZ reported 39,737 new homes consented in the year ended May 2026, up 19% from the previous year, suggesting a stronger pipeline of future work after the recent downturn.
For builders who have navigated a much tighter market, that improvement will be welcome. But the 2026 House of the Year results also show what the industry has continued to achieve throughout that period.
The awards showcase multimillion-dollar homes on difficult coastal and alpine sites, carefully executed houses delivered for under $1 million, and renovations where the greatest construction challenge is making new work sit seamlessly alongside the old.
Behind the architecture are the construction skills required to turn those designs into finished homes: precision, planning, problem-solving, material knowledge and attention to detail.
The regional competitions are also the first major step towards the national honours.
The best 100 homes from around the country achieve Top 100 status and progress to the National Finals, where the country’s National Supreme House of the Year winners and National Supreme Renovation of the Year will be decided.
For the builders already recognised at regional level, that’s another opportunity to put their work against the very best in the country.
For the wider industry, the 2026 results offer something else: a snapshot of what New Zealand residential construction can achieve when strong design is matched by exceptional execution.
Now the wait is on to see which of these standout homes will be named the best in New Zealand.
2026 REGIONAL SUPREME WINNERS
AUCKLAND / NORTHLAND / COROMANDEL
Supreme House of the Year over $1 million: Create + Construct — Waiheke Island
Supreme House of the Year under $1 million: Stark Building — Milldale
Supreme Renovation of the Year: T.P. Builders — Birkenhead
BAY OF PLENTY & CENTRAL PLATEAU
Supreme House of the Year: Calley Homes — Pāpāmoa
Supreme Renovation of the Year: Reside Construction — Waihī Beach
CANTERBURY
Supreme House of the Year over $1 million: M O Brown Builders — Cashmere, Christchurch
Supreme House of the Year under $1 million: T Dunn Builders — Loburn, Rangiora
Supreme Renovation of the Year: LM Architectural Builders — Merivale, Christchurch
CENTRAL NORTH ISLAND
Supreme House of the Year over $1 million: Colab Building — Haumoana, Hastings
Supreme House of the Year under $1 million: Form by Terry Clegg — Huirangi, New Plymouth
No Supreme Renovation of the Year was awarded in the Central North Island competition.
COOK STRAIT
Supreme House of the Year over $1 million: Planit Construction — Martinborough
Supreme House of the Year under $1 million: Class E Build — Roseneath, Wellington
Supreme Renovation of the Year: You Build — Nelson
SOUTHERN
Supreme House of the Year over $1 million: Trinity Construction + Projects — Lower Shotover, Queenstown
Supreme House of the Year under $1 million: Gibson Builders — Northlake, Wānaka
Supreme Renovation of the Year: Hunter & Craig Architectural Design & Build — Bannockburn, Cromwell
WAIKATO
Supreme House of the Year: White Wood Homes — Rangitahi, Raglan
Supreme Renovation of the Year: G.D Pringle Building — Cambridge
Learn more at: House of the Year 2026 results