Hon Dr Nick Smith
Minister for Building and Housing
31 August 2015
Media Statement
Auckland housing consents top 1000 in July
Building consent data released by Statistics New Zealand show 1116 homes were consented in Auckland in July, the first
time in a decade that the monthly total has been over 1000, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith noted today.
“Auckland house construction is booming. The 1116 consents for July is up 31 per cent on July last year, and up 59 per
cent on June 2015. It is more than five times the rate of house build of just 200 per month when Labour left government.
The latest annual rate of 8567 in Auckland is also the strongest in a decade,” Dr Smith says.
“I also welcome the significant increase in the number of apartments consented in Auckland, as they are part of the
solution to Auckland’s housing supply and affordability issues. There were 437 apartments consented in the city in July
– six times more than the number consented the previous month, and three times more than the number consented in July
last year.
“Today’s figures are the latest in a series that show strong momentum is underway in Auckland. Last week’s Auckland
Housing Accord Monitoring Report showed the house build rate in Auckland has grown at over 20 per cent per year since
2012 – the longest and strongest period of growth ever.
“The National Construction Pipeline report I released last month similarly showed we are building more than we have ever
before, and projected the total value of building and construction activity in New Zealand to top $200 billion over the
next six years – much of this driven by Auckland. The report forecast 80,000 new homes will be built in Auckland in the
six years to 2020.
“These positive reports confirm the Government’s housing policies are working. We are continuing to free up more land
faster through the Auckland Housing Accord and the seven other Accords we have with councils across the country. We have
initiatives in place to constrain building materials costs, rein in development contributions, cut compliance costs and
invest in improved sector productivity. Our new $435 million HomeStart support package, which came into effect 1 April,
will help 90,000 people into home ownership over the next five years.
“The Government’s focus is on growing housing supply, improving affordability and ensuring residential investors pay
their fair share of tax. The next steps include the new tax measures coming into effect on 1 October, the new LVR rules
on investors coming into effect 1 November, and the planned second phase of reforms to the Resource Management Act,
which will address the long-term issues affecting housing supply and affordability. We remain committed to supporting
more New Zealand into their own home.”
ends