New dwelling consents hit 12-year high

June spike reaches highest point in a decade

Statistics New Zealand’s latest data shows that more than 29,000 new dwellings were consented in the 12 months to June, the most in more than in ten years.

“The annual total of 29,097 is the highest for a June year since 2004, when it was more than 33,000,” said business indicators manager Clara Eatherley. “Auckland and the surrounding regions were the main contributors to this growth.”

For the month, a total of 2,752 new dwellings were consented compared to 2,042 in June 2015 – an increase of 35%. Seasonally adjusted, the number of new dwellings rose 16% following a 0.1% increase in May. For houses only, the seasonally adjusted number rose 4.9% following a 4.6% fall in May.

In the regions

In June 2016 compared to June 2015, new dwelling consents increased in 12 of the 16 regions, led by Auckland (up 217 to 921; +31%), Wellington (up 187 to 275; +213%), Waikato (up 128 to 335; +62%) and Bay of Plenty (up 101 to 246; +70%).

The high Wellington increase is attributed to the one-off consenting of 159 retirement village units.

Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu-Wanganui, Marlborough, Nelson, Northland, Otago, Southland and Tasman were the other regions to record an increase.

Canterbury (down 77 to 467; -14%), Taranaki (down seven to 35; -17%), West Coast (down five to six; -45%) and Gisborne (down two to five; -40%) all consented less new dwelling compared to June 2015.

The value of non-residential building consents in June was $739m (up $285m; +63% from June 2015), taking the 12-month total $6.1bn.

Consents for all buildings total $1.8bn in June

The total value of building work consented in June 2016 was $1.8bn, comprising $1.1bn of residential work and $739m of non-residential.

For the year ended June 2016, compared with the year ended June 2015, the value of buildings consented increased for:

• All buildings – up $2.7bn (18%) to $18bn.
• Residential buildings – up $1.9bn (19%) to $12bn.
• Non-residential buildings – up $779m (15%) to $6.1bn.