Mayor Phil Goff says another record month for dwellings consented in Auckland is more evidence that real progress is being made for housing in the region.

“A total of 1657 new dwellings were consented in May,” says Mayor Goff.

“That’s not only an all-time record for the month of May, it’s also the most dwellings consented in Auckland in any month in 16 years, and the second-highest number of dwellings consented in Auckland in any month ever.

“It takes annual dwellings consented to a new annual record of 13,881.

“Building new houses in Auckland is a priority as we deal with the pressures of population growth and housing unaffordability, but it is clear from these figures that progress is being made.

“We continue to issue consents at record levels. These latest figures follow previous record-breaking months for consenting earlier this year.

“Seven years ago, we were issuing only about 3600 consents a year and for years after that building numbers and infrastructure lagged massively behind Auckland’s growth in population.

“The new Auckland Unitary Plan has contributed to this result and has dropped land prices by around 6 per cent, according to council’s chief economist.

“To deal effectively with building consents we have recruited new staff into our consenting team to help process these record numbers and deal with the increasing complexity of consents. The cost of this is met primarily through consent charges not rates.

“There is much work to be done to get on top of Auckland’s housing shortage, but these figures show that progress continues to be made,” Phil Goff said.

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