Building consents lift 5.4% in 12 months to September

By Rebecca Howard

Oct. 31 (BusinessDesk) - The number of new homes consented in the 12 months to September lifted 5.4 percent as the number of new townhouses, flats, and units consented stormed higher.

In the year to September, 32,548 new homes were consented nationally, Statistics New Zealand said. Of those, a record 6,059 were townhouses, flats, and units, up 29 percent on a year earlier. There were 20,692 stand-alone houses – down 2.4 percent from the September 2017 year. Consents for apartments lifted 21 percent while permitted retirement village units were up 6.3 percent.

Auckland continued to lead the pack, with 12,945 new homes permitted in the Auckland region in the year to September. That number is bordering the 13,000 new permits needed to keep up with population growth.

“Growth in new townhouses, flats, and units between 2013 and 2016 was driven by activity in both Auckland and Canterbury, but more recently it was driven by Auckland," construction statistics manager Melissa McKenzie said.

Seasonally adjusted consents fell 1.5 percent in September to 2,675, the agency said. This followed a 6.8 percent rise in August and a 9.7 percent fall in July.

The actual value of residential building consents issued in September - including alterations and additions - was $1.1 billion versus $1.3 billion in August. The value of non-residential permits was $556 million versus $599 million in August.

In the year to September, non-residential building consents totalled $6.7 billion, up 4.9 percent on the year before. That were led by education buildings, which totalled $1.1 billion, up 16 percent on the year.

(BusinessDesk)

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