28 January 2005
Strong Apartment Contribution Continues
Apartment units accounted for one-quarter of all consents for new dwelling units in December 2004, according to
Statistics New Zealand. This follows similar apartment contributions in November and October 2004. Consents were issued
for 599 new apartment units in December 2004.
Consents were issued for 2,416 new dwelling units in December 2004. The number of new dwelling units continues to be
historically high, having generally been over 2,400 each month since March 2003. Consents for 31,423 new dwelling units
were issued in the year ended December 2004, up 5 percent from the December 2003 year. This is the largest total for a
December year since 1974.
In December 2004 the total value of consents issued for non-residential buildings was $342 million. The largest
contributor was factories and industrial buildings. The trend for the value of non-residential buildings increased 38
percent over the 12 months to December 2004. This follows a period of relative flatness between January 1995 and
December 2003.
The total value of consents issued for all buildings in December 2004 was $911 million, up 10 percent compared with
December 2003. In December 2004, residential buildings contributed 62 percent to the total value of all buildings,
compared with 68 percent in December 2003.
Brian Pink
Government Statistician
ENDS