Consent stats confirm ongoing building boom
Hon Dr Nick Smith
Minister for Building and Housing
29 July 2016
Consent stats confirm ongoing building boom
Residential and commercial building work has hit an all-time record of $18.3 billion and 29,000 homes, confirming New Zealand is in the midst of the largest building boom ever, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith says.
“We have topped 29,000 homes being built for the first time in 12 years, with a 16 per cent increase nationally on last year. This is the longest and strongest period of growth on record.
“The contrast with 2004 is that construction grew then for three straight years whereas we are already in the fifth straight year of growth, and this is projected to continue for a further four. The second key difference is that we also have record levels of commercial activity occurring simultaneously, with total building activity 29 per cent higher in real terms than in 2004.
“I’m particularly encouraged by the strong new home consents for Auckland of 921 for the month of June – up 31 per cent from the 704 in June last year. The rate of house build when we came to Government was 10 per working day; the latest figures equate to 46 per working day. We are getting close to the required levels of between 50 and 60 needed to address Auckland’s long-term housing shortage.
“The strength of growth in new home construction outside of Auckland is also very encouraging and shows the building boom has spread to centres such as Whangarei, Tauranga, Hamilton and Queenstown, as well as most regions.
“This pace of growth in building activity does put pressure on the skills and resources in the construction sector. We are working hard to ensure we deliver quality as well as quantity. I have recently announced changes in building regulations and have officials working on further improvements to ensure we maintain a high standard of construction work through this boom.”
ends