Record high building costs expected to surge further

CoreLogic’s Cordell Construction Cost Index shows the cost to build a standard 200m2 three-bedroom, two-bathroom single-storey brick and tile house increased by 3.4% in the third quarter, exceeding the 2.6% rise recorded over the three months to June. Annual growth reached 9.6%, almost two percentage points higher than  the 7.7% increase in the year to June.

CoreLogic chief property economist Kelvin Davidson says while there are signs of a slowdown for the residential construction industry, they are small and coming off a very high base.

Auckland Council data show it issued 21,463 building consents for the year ended August, an increase of 7.7% on 2021.

The number of new homes built in August also reached a high of 1,320 – the seventh highest number of Code Compliance Certificates (CCCs) given for new houses in the Auckland region since records began in 2013. In the year ending August, 13,021 dwellings had a CCC issued.