Regional housing consents hit record
A record number of new homes have been consented in the Wellington region over the past year but Ka¯ piti and South Wairarapa have seen a dip in numbers.
Data from Statistics New Zealand shows 2781 new homes were consented in the year to June, with Lower Hutt consents up by 85 per cent and those in Upper Hutt jumping 81 per cent.
The regional total includes 1535 stand-alone houses, 565 apartments, 451 townhouses and 230 retirement village units.
That total was up 29 per cent from last year, and is the highest since records began in 1991.
‘‘Wellington region consented a record number of new homes in the June 2018 year,’’ Stats NZ construction indicators manager Melissa McKenzie said.
‘‘This is 7.3 per cent higher than the previous peak of 2632 in the August 2003 year.’’
Wellington City also saw a 31 per cent increase compared with last year, and contributed 40 per cent of all new consents, while Masterton was up 63 per cent and Carterton was up 7.1 per cent.
But the Ka¯ piti Coast saw a 17 per cent drop, and South Wairarapa was down 1 per cent. Porirua was down 0.7 per cent.
Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy said the increase there was similar to that of the past five or six years.
The new Amberley Gardens subdivision in Silverstream had added about 90 homes, while the residential development of Wallaceville Estate in Trentham included about 900 new homes.
Hutt City Council general manager of city transformation Kim Kelly said Lower Hutt’s increase was largely because of an urban growth strategy introduced by the council in 2012.
That set a target of 6000 new homes by 2032, or 300 each year.
Wellington Mayor Justin Lester said the capital’s increase had been driven by a strong local economy and increased demand for new housing.
Large-scale apartment developments were also taking place, and last year also saw record numbers, he said.