Consents steady

New dwelling consents rose a seasonally adjusted 5.7% in February after no change in January, as the series steadied following several months of volatility

 A total of 2,412 new dwellings were consented in February, including 1,664 stand-alone houses and 133 apartments.

In the year ended February, 31,245 new dwellings were consented, up 3.6% from the previous 12-month period. Apartments (up 29%) and townhouses, flats and units (up 12%) drove the increase. Stand-alone houses fell 1.3%, while still accounting for more than two-thirds of total consents.

“New homes data is volatile from month-to-month, so we recommend using annual figures to see underlying changes,” said construction statistics manager Melissa McKenzie.

In the regions

 Six out of the 16 regions consented more new dwellings in February 2018 compared to February 2017, led by Wellington (up 106 to 239; +80%), Tasman (up 19 to 42; +83%) and Nelson (up 16 to 37; +76%). Canterbury, Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay were the other regions to consent more new dwellings.

Bay of Plenty (down 60 to 166; -27%), Otago (down 32 to 149; -18%) and Waikato (down 30 to 264; -10%) recorded the biggest month-on-month decreases. Auckland, Marlborough, Northland, Southland, Taranaki and West Coast also consented fewer dwellings. Manawatu-Wanganui recorded no change.

All building valued at $20.4bn

 In the year ended February 2018, non-residential building consents totaled $6.8bn – up 11% from the year before, comprising:

• Offices, administration, and public transport buildings – $1.2bn (down 3.5% from the February 2017 year).
• Education buildings – $1.1bn (down 8.8%).
• Shops, restaurants, and bars – $866m (up 13%).
• Storage buildings – $767m (up 17%).

The value of all building work consented in the February 2018 year rose 9.9% to $20.4bn, including $13.7bn of residential work.