Housing boom set to continue
Canterbury’s housing market is still in a post-earthquake boom, with consents outstripping the rest of the country.
Over the past year, Canterbury had the highest level of new homes consented per capita in the country.
According to Statistics New Zealand, 11 new homes were consented for every 1000 Canterbury residents in the year to June.
Consent numbers remain higher than normal because of the ongoing earthquake recovery.
The next highest number of consents per capita were Bay of Plenty and Waikato, tied at eight consents per 1000 residents.
Auckland was tied with Northland for the lowest number per capita, with six homes consented per thousand residents.
The national average was also six – double what it was in 2011.
Statistics New Zealand said the country’s population had grown by 508,000 over the past 10 years, and the number of private dwellings had increased by about 178,000.
At 30 June 2016, almost 4.7 million people were living in New Zealand, and there were a total of 1.8 million private dwellings.
Ivan Stanicich, Master Builders Canterbury branch president and owner of Fowler Homes, was surprised at the statistics.
‘‘I would have thought, to be honest, we were on a decline.’’
He said rebuild activity had plateaued but the rapid growth in Selwyn might account for some of the new builds.
Stanicich said Canterbury was increasingly seen as a good place to live. ’’We’ve done so well through the quakes that people think it’s a safe place to build in.’’
Harcourts Christchurch managing director Andy Freeman said the new houses were helping to boost supply.
He said the cooling rental market was a good indication of supply meeting demand for housing in Christchurch.
‘‘Three years ago you couldn’t get a rental . . . at the moment it’s stabilised.’’
But despite the increasing consent numbers, Freeman said real estate agents had a shortage of properties for sale.
‘‘There’s less to pick and choose from.’’
Freeman expected more houses would come on to the market through spring and into summer.