Dwelling consents hit seven-year high

Auckland and Canterbury account for 70% of new dwelling consents in November 2014

According to the latest figures from Statistics New Zealand, the unadjusted number of new dwelling consents totalled 2,420 (including 474 apartments) – the highest since 2,508 new dwellings were consented in August 2007.

Seasonally adjusted, the number of new dwellings consented, including apartments, increased 10%. Excluding apartments, the increase was 2.1%.

The trend for the number of new dwellings, including apartments, has remained relatively unchanged after generally increasing earlier in 2014.

In the regions

Together, Auckland (967) and Canterbury (726) accounted for 70% of the national total. Of the 474 apartments consented, 442 (93%) were consented in Auckland. Five out of the 16 regions consented more new dwellings, including apartments, in November 2014 compared to November 2013.

The three biggest increases were in Auckland (up 188 to 967; +24%), Canterbury (up 174 to 726; +32%) and Hawke’s Bay (up 7 to 38; +23%). The other two regions to record increases were Marlborough and Northland.

Wellington (down 109 to 104; -51%), Waikato (down 50 to 181; -22%) and Nelson (down 15 to 8, -65%) recorded the biggest decreases. Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Manawatu-Wanganui, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman and the West Coast also consented fewer dwellings than the same month in the previous year.

Value of consents total $1.3B

The total value of all building work consented in November 2014 was $1.3bn, comprising $867 m of residential work and $426 m of non-residential.

By building type, offices and administration buildings ($155m) and shops, restaurants and taverns ($61m) combined for 51% of the national total.

For the year ending November 2014, compared to the previous 12 month period, the total value of residential building consents increased $1.7bn (22%)
to $9.4bn. Non-residential consents increased $900 m (22%) to $5 bn.