According to Statistics New Zealand the value trend has been rising for the past year and has now reached its highest for the month since 2008.
The number of new housing approvals also in May 2012 to its highest level for a May month since 2008. This included 1,372 new houses, including apartments, up by 20% and 1,304 new houses, excluding apartments, up 22%.
However, after removing seasonal fluctuations, there were decreases in the number of new houses, both including and excluding apartments, in May 2012, compared with April 2012. These falls follow decreases in April and large rises in March, and are consistent with the volatile nature of the series. The trends for the number of new houses, both including and excluding apartments, have both been rising over the last year.
Auckland had the largest regional increase in new houses, up 125, including 37 new apartments in May 2012. The Canterbury region also had a significant rise in the number of new houses, up 100, with the majority of consents for houses located outside Christchurch city in the surrounding districts.
In Canterbury, earthquake related building consents totalled $47 million in May 2012, the second highest monthly total since the Canterbury earthquakes began in September 2010. Of this, $30 million was for non-residential work and $17 million was for residential work, including 34 new houses.
