Residential building consents fall
New Zealand residential building consents fell 7.6 per cent in June after rising 6.9 per cent in May when they were driven by a strong lift in residential building consents in Auckland.
Seasonally-adjusted consents for all dwellings fell to 2857 in June from 3092 in May while seasonallyadjusted permits for stand-alone houses were down 3.1 per cent to 1807, Statistics New Zealand said.
“The number of new homes consented fell in June, when adjusted for seasonal factors. This was down from a particularly high number in May, that was driven by Auckland,” construction indicators manager Melissa McKenzie said.
New Zealand’s residential construction pipeline has been bolstered by a shortfall of housing, particularly in the country’s biggest city, although the 2018 National Construction Pipeline Survey, published by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment on Monday, projects a slower rate of increase over the next two years than a year ago, with higher rates of construction stretching further into the future than previously forecast.
In the year to the end of June, permits for new residential dwellings rose an actual 7.9 per cent to 32,860. Consents issued for townhouses, flats and units were up 20 per cent to 5760 while consents for apartments lifted The number of consents dropped by 7.6 per cent in June.
35 per cent to 3922 and retirement village units were up 21 per cent to 2002. Consents for houses were up 0.4 per cent on the year to 21,176.
Of those, 12,369 were in Auckland, up 19 per cent on the year but 4.4 per cent lower than the peak in the June 2004 year, Stats NZ said. However, there were also 2781 homes consented in Wellington, up 29 per cent and a new record high.
“Wellington region consented a record number of new homes in the June 2018 year,” McKenzie said. “This is 7.3 per cent higher than the previous peak of 2632 in the August 2003 year.”
The value of all residential building consents issued in the year ended June 2018, including alterations and additions, was $14.2 billion.