February bumper month for consents

After a slow start to the year, new dwelling consent figures rebounded strongly in February

Statistics New Zealand’s latest data shows that 2,379 new dwelling consents were issued in February – the highest February total since 2004 and 621 more than the previous corresponding period.

The total comprised 1,712 houses, 341 townhouses, flats and units, 204 apartments and 122 retirement village units. Seasonally adjusted, the number of new dwellings increased by 11%, following a 7.8% decline in January.

In the regions

Compared to February 2015, new dwelling consents increased in ten of the 16 regions, led by Auckland (up 259 to 787; +49%) and Bay of Plenty (up 99 to 200; +98%).

Following a sharp 38% month-on-month decline in Canterbury in January, new dwelling consents in the region remained steady in February, increasing by eight to 525. Other regions to record an increase were Manawatu-Wanganui, Northland, Taranaki, Tasman, Waikato and Wellington.

The biggest decreases were in Hawke’s Bay (down five to 30; -30%), Marlborough (down two to 14, -13%), Nelson (down two to 13; -13%) and Southland (down two to 12; -14%). Gisborne and the West Coast both consented one less new dwelling.

Non-residential consents down

While new dwelling consent numbers rebounded, the value of non-residential consents fell by $99m to $372m compared to last February. The fall was mainly due to a decrease in the value of consents for office, administration and public transport buildings.

The regions that contributed the highest value of non-residential building consents in February 2016 were:

–  Auckland – $118m.
–  Canterbury – $107m.
–  Wellington – $35m.

Consents for all buildings total $1.4 billion in February.