Thirty-Year High in New Dwellings for February

Thirty-Year High in New Dwellings for February Month

Consents were issued for 2,529 new dwelling units in February 2004, according to Statistics New Zealand. This is the highest total for a February month since 1974. The trend series for the number of new dwelling units has been rising since April 2003.

Consents for 30,923 new dwelling units were issued in the year ended February 2004, the highest total for a February year since 1976.

In February 2004, consents for 559 new apartment units were issued, compared with 471 in January 2004 and 382 in December 2003.

Eleven out of 16 regions recorded more new dwelling units in February 2004 compared with February 2003. Auckland (up 456 units) recorded the largest increase in new dwelling units when comparing the two February months, followed by Waikato (up 116 units) and Canterbury (up 76 units). The Auckland region contributed 1,076 units (43 percent) to the total number of new dwelling units in February 2004.

The total value of non-residential building consents issued in February 2004 was $213 million.

This follows totals of $217 million in January 2004 and $262 million in December 2003. Consents issued for education buildings were worth $45 million (21 percent) of the total non-residential buildings value in February 2004. This was followed by factories and industrial buildings with $41 million (19 percent), shops, restaurants and taverns with $29 million (14 percent), and offices and administration buildings with $27 million (13 percent).

The total value of consents issued for all buildings in February 2004 was $773 million. For the year ended February 2004, the total value of consents for all buildings was $9,414 million, up $1,511 million (19 percent) when compared with the year ended February 2003.

Brian Pink

Government Statistician

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