New Dwellings Trend Continues Steady Rise

New Dwellings Trend Continues Steady Rise

Consents were issued for 2,385 new dwelling units in January 2004, according to Statistics New Zealand. The trend series for the number of new dwelling units has been steadily rising since March 2003. For the year ended January 2004, consents for 30,191 new dwelling units were issued, the highest total for a year ended January since 1977.

Consents for 471 new apartment units were issued in January 2004, compared with 382 in December 2003 and 744 in November 2003.

Twelve out of 16 regions recorded more new dwelling units in January 2004 compared with January 2003. Otago (up 102 units) recorded the largest increase in new dwelling units when comparing the two January months, followed by Wellington (up 73 units) and Auckland (up 69 units). In January 2004, the Auckland region was the main contributor to the total number of new dwelling units with 888 units or 37 percent.

The total value of non-residential building consents issued in January 2004 was $217 million. This follows totals of $262 million in December 2003 and $255 million in November 2003. Consents issued for offices and administration buildings were worth $52 million or 24 percent of the total non-residential buildings value in January 2004. This was followed by factory and industrial buildings, and shops, restaurants and taverns, each with $35 million (16 percent). Storage buildings, and social, cultural and religious buildings were next with $24 million (11 percent) each.

The total value of consents issued for all buildings in January 2004 was $738 million. For the year ended January 2004, the total value of consents for all buildings was $9,246 million, up $1,419 million or 18 percent when compared with the year ended January 2003.

Brian Pink
Government Statistician
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