Trend for new houses eases

Trend for new houses eases

30 August 2013

Building consents for new houses have been trending upwards for over two years, but the rate of increase is showing signs of slowing, Statistics New Zealand said today.

“The trend for the number of new houses, including apartments, has increased 71 percent since the historic low point of March 2011,” industry and labour statistics manager Blair Cardno said.

The trend is at its highest level in over five years, but is still 38 percent lower than its peak in January 2004.

The seasonally adjusted number of new houses, including apartments, had a small fall of 0.8 percent in July 2013 compared with June 2013.

Eight-year high in Canterbury

Across the Canterbury region, 507 new houses, including apartments, were consented in July – the most since March 2005. This includes Christchurch, where 238 were consented – the most since March 2007.

Across New Zealand, 1,893 new houses, including apartments, were consented, with 11 of the 16 regions consenting more new houses than in July 2012.

The value of consents for all buildings, including both new work and alterations, was $1,123 million in July – $698 million of residential work and $425 million of non-residential work.

Earthquake-related building consents in Canterbury reached a milestone in July. Since September 2010, 1,001 consented new houses, including apartments, have been identified as earthquake-related.

Data for building consents is obtained from all territorial authorities in New Zealand.

For more information about these statistics: Visit Building Consents Issued: July 2013

ENDS

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