National consent figures ease

Driven by growth in Auckland, the number of apartments consented hit a seven-year high 

According to the latest figures from Statistics New Zealand, 2,112 new dwelling consents were issued in April 2015 compared to 2,082 in April 2014.

There were 467 new apartments consented in April – a seven-year high – with 438 of those in Auckland. In the last 12 months, 9,708 total residential buildings have been consented, compared to 8,503 in the year to April 2014.

Seasonally adjusted, the number of new dwelling consents issued fell 1.7%, following a 10% rise in March. For houses only, it fell 2.7% on the back of a 7.2% increase in March.

For houses only, the trend for the number of new dwellings consented continues to decrease, but is still 71% above the March 2011 low.

In the regions

While the total number of new dwelling consents issued increased nationwide, most of that growth occurred in Auckland – only seven of the 16 regions consented more dwellings compared to the same month last year.

Auckland (up 215 to 912; +31%), Bay of Plenty (up 29 to 118; +33%) and Northland (up 11 to 46; +31%) recorded the biggest increases. Hawke’s Bay, Marlborough, Otago and Tasman were the other regions to record an increase.

The biggest decreases were in Canterbury (down 127 to 427; -23%); Waikato (down 41 to 220; -16%) and Wellington (down 29 to 120; -19%). The other regions to record a decrease were Gisborne, Manawatu-Wanganui, Nelson, Southland, Taranaki and the West Coast.

Consents for all buildings total $1.2 billion in April

The total value of building work consented in April 2015 was $1.2 billion – comprising $757 million of residential work and $419m of non-residential work. For the year ended April 2015, compared with the year ended April 2014, the value of building consents increased for:

• All buildings – up $2.0bn (15%) to $15bn
• Residential buildings – up $1.2bn (14%) to $9.7bn
• Non-residential buildings – up $800m (17%) to $5.3bn

Residential building activity on the rise

Residential building activity has increased for the second consecutive quarter.

After price changes and seasonal variations are removed, residential building activity rose 2.6% in the March 2015 quarter compared to the March 2014 quarter and follows a 2.3% rise in the previous one. Non-residential building activity fell 1.2%, with all building activity increasing by 1.0% in the March quarter.

The volume trend for residential buildings is now 69% higher than the September 2011 quarter low point. However, the current level is still 6.7% lower than the June 2004 quarter series high.