Home consents reach 11-year milestone

Second-highest number of homes consented in a year since 1974

The annual number of homes consented has passed 30,000 for the first time in 11 years, according to Statistics New Zealand.

The all-time high of 40,000 was recorded in early 1974; the second highest was 33,000 in mid-2004.

“One-third of the homes consented over the past year were in Auckland. That’s almost 10,000, compared with 9,000 in the previous year,” says business indicators senior manager Neil Kelly.

Statistics New Zealand data shows that a total of 2,575 new dwellings were consented in October.

Year-on-year, the October total – which included 1,802 houses and 229 apartments – was up 14%. For houses only, the seasonally adjusted number rose 4% following a 2.5% decline in October.

Wellington continues to lead the charge

Compared to October 2015, new dwelling consents in October 2016 increased in 12 out of the 16 regions – led by Wellington (up 177 to 303), Waikato (up 43 to 302), Otago (up 25 to 161) and Northland (up 30 to 113). Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu-Wanganui, Marlborough, Tasman, Nelson, Southland and West Coast were the other regions to record an increase.

The biggest decrease was in Canterbury (down 102 to 387). Auckland, Gisborne and Taranaki were the three other regions to consent fewer new dwellings.