Planning consent for new homes in New Zealand up 24% annually

The new build property sector in New Zealand is growing with planning consents up 24% in July compared with a year ago, the latest data shows.  

Overall there were 2,824 new dwellings consented nationally, the highest number since march 2005, according to the figures from Statistics New Zealand.

It was boosted by apartments and town houses, flats, and units and Waikato led the growth with consents up 40% while Auckland saw growth of 31%, well above the national average.

The total value of consents for all buildings in July 2015 was $1.4 billion, with some $976 million for residential buildings and $455 million for non-residential buildings.

The data also shows that over $4 billion worth of building work was put in place in the June 2015 quarter, up nearly 8% on the June 2014 quarter, the highest quarterly value recorded in the 50 years since the series began, and represents almost $900 worth of building work per person.

'The value of both residential and non-residential building work increased overall. In Auckland, residential work grew, while in Canterbury most of the growth was in non-residential work,' said Statistics New Zealand business indicators manager Neil Kelly.

After removing price changes and seasonal variations, the overall volume of building activity increased 1.6% following a 1.8% increase in the March 2015 quarter. Within this, the volume of non-residential work increased 5.2% while residential work fell 1%.

The volume trend for non-residential building activity reached a new high in the June 2015 quarter, exceeding levels last seen in the March 2006 quarter. Meanwhile, the residential building activity volume trend is still 8% lower than the June 2004 quarter peak.

The overall building activity volume trend grew to a level last seen 10 years ago in the June 2005 quarter, the previous series peak.