Consents rose by 3.8% in June, following on from strong increases in recent months, particularly for apartments and townhouses.

Stats New Zealand figures show 44,299 new dwellings were consented over the past year – a new record and up 18% from the June 2020 year.

The seasonally adjusted number of new houses consented rose 3.8%, after falling 2.4% in May.

In June, 4,310 new houses were consented, comprising 2,373 stand-alone houses; 1,303 townhouses, flats and units; 413 apartments; and 221 retirement village units.

The total value of new dwellings consented in the year to June was $16.58 billion, up 20.4% compared to the previous 12 months. Further, another $2.18 billion was consented for structural alterations to existing houses.

Much of the building strength is centred in Auckland, with more than 19,000 new houses consented over the past year.

Westpac economist Satish Ranchhod says the pace of building will go a long way to addressing the shortage of homes that has built up over the past year. Especially with the borders now closed and population growth set to remain low for some time.

There are also high levels of consents being issued in areas such as the Waikato, Hawke’s Bay, Wellington and Manawatū/Whanganui. There’s been ongoing strength in Canterbury too.

Ranchhod says the latest statistics reinforces Westpac’s expectation of strong home building over the remainder of 2021 and through 2022.

“However, shortages of labour and materials may provide some brake on the pace of building. There is likely to be continued strong pressure on building costs, including labour.

“We continue to see mixed trends on the commercial construction front, with the storage/industrial segment continuing to show strength, while demand and building in other sectors continues to adjust in the wake of the pandemic,” he adds. 

The annual value of non-residential building work consented was $7.7 billion, up 13% from the June 2020 year.