Official: Over a year to finish new homes

A new release from Stats NZ indicates that it takes most new homes 15 months to reach final inspection, and two further months to receive a code compliance certificate

While the number of consents issued month-on month and year-on-year is a staple news item in the building industry, information on how many of these consents become homes, and how long that process takes, hasn’t been readily available – until now.  

Released at the end of May, the Experimental Building Indicators: March 2022 quarter report uses inspections and code compliance certificate (CCC) data to provide an estimate of construction timelines and completion rates.

Stats NZ reiterates that it is a snapshot of the national picture, as it only includes data from 22 building consent authorities, covering 40% of building consents issued and 60% of new homes consented.

Construction Statistics Manager Michael Heslop said the report was currently a one-off proof of concept.

“With these experimental building indicators, we are looking for feedback from our customers on which insights are useful and how the information could be improved to better suit their needs.” 

A year-long wait

According to the numbers from the December 2020 quarter, on average it takes 455 calendar days to get a new build to the final inspection stage. The time to achieve a CCC was nearly three months longer, at 519 days.

The report noted that building consents for stand-alone houses tend to reach the final inspection and achieve CCCs more quickly than consents for multi-unit homes (such as apartment buildings, townhouses, and retirement villages).

Meanwhile, in the December 2021 quarter, the median time from a dwelling being consented to first inspection was 114 days.

The number of new dwellings that received a CCC in the March 2022 quarter was down 6.8% from the March 2021 quarter.

Much-needed information?

Building consent records have consistently been surpassed throughout the past 12 months and March 2022 saw three records set, including the highest number of consents in one month and the first time the annual number of building consents passed 50,000. 

David Kelly, Chief Executive of the Registered Master Builders Association, said the wider industry should look at the data with interest: “This data provides important information on building completion timeframes, which. could be beneficial in helping the sector understand its productivity and, in turn, business profitability“.

“We would like to see this information continue to be gathered and published. Over time, it can provide useful insights into the fluctuating building cycle.”

Builders can provide feedback by emailing building.activity@stats.govt.nz .