More home being built in New Zealand, mostly apartments

The number of new home consents in New Zealand was 3.6% higher in January 2015 compared with the same month the year before, new data shows.

The trend for new dwellings is rising and is at its highest level since July 2007. However, excluding apartments, it was 6.8% lower, the figures from Statistics New Zealand also show.

Also, the seasonally adjusted number of new home consents decreased 3.8% in January 2015 and excluding apartments, this number fell 7.5%.

Business indicators manager Neil Kelly pointed out that in unadjusted terms, nearly $1 billion of building work was consented in January, some $645 million of residential work and $351 million of non-residential work.

More than $15 billion worth of building work was carried out in 2014, some $2.8 billion higher than in 2013, a 23% increase.

Together, Auckland and Canterbury accounted for $9.7 billion worth of the building work in 2014, nearly two thirds of the national total.

After removing price changes and seasonal variations, overall building activity volume edged up 0.3% in the final quarter of 2014. Residential building activity led with 4.3% growth, while non-residential building activity fell by 5%.

‘The trend for residential building activity has grown by two thirds since the September 2011 quarter. However the current level is 7% lower than the series peak more than 10 years ago in the June 2004 quarter,’ added Kelly.