Dashboard shows housing picture in greater Christchurch

Minister supporting Greater Christchurch Regeneration Nicky Wagner today released the first data snapshot in a series designed to more accurately and transparently track the regeneration process.

The first Greater Christchurch Dashboard features average house price and weekly rental cost data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

“The data shows the average weekly rental cost dropped from $400 in April 2016 to $386 in April 2017. At its peak, the average weekly rental cost rose to $437 post-earthquake,” Ms Wagner says.

“Last week, I made a commitment to better communicate with the people of the greater Christchurch about how we’re really tracking. The 2010 and 2011 quakes altered our path forever, so we’re not always going to align with what’s happening in other regions, or even nationally.

“This week the focus is housing and the data indicates we’re reaching an equilibrium in terms of supply and demand.

“We’ve seen new developments, particularly in Selwyn and Waimakariri, come to fruition, Housing NZ has successfully repaired more than 5000 quake-damaged homes and built 700 new ones, and the private residential rebuild is also progressing, with the latest Insurance Council of New Zealand data showing 95 per cent of all residential property claims have been settled.”

Statistics NZ data shows building consents for new residential dwellings for the March 2017 quarter were 1048, down 12.2 per cent on the same quarter last year.

“Data is an incredibly important resource that can help us make better decisions for the future of Christchurch. The overall picture is big and complex but this series of snapshots will help make things clearer in the coming weeks and months,” Ms Wagner says.

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