New home consent numbers dip in February

The number of new homes consented in February 2021 was 3,129, which is slightly lower than the February 2020 figure of 3,285, Stats NZ said today.

This month follows a record-breaking December quarter, where 11,291 new homes were consented.

The annual number of new homes consented in the year ended February 2021 was 39,725, up 4.9 percent from 37,882 in the same period in 2020.

Townhouses, flats, and units were up 37.7 percent, to almost 12,000, in the year ended February 2021 compared with the same period in 2020. They now account for around 30 percent of all new homes, after rising from 5,077 in the year ended February 2018 (an increase of 135 percent).

The annual number of stand-alone houses, apartments, and retirement village units consented dropped in the same period, partly offsetting the strong gains in consents for townhouses, flats, and units.

Typically, stand-alone houses are built within a year or two, though more complex projects such as apartment blocks can take longer to complete.

"There are a high number of townhouses, flats, and units in the pipeline of building projects for 2021. Some of the larger projects may extend beyond 2021," construction statistics manager Michael Heslop said.

Seasonally adjusted fall in number of new homes consented

The seasonally adjusted number of new homes consented in the February 2021 month dropped by 18.2 percent, compared with January 2021, with far fewer multi-unit homes than in recent months. This was the biggest seasonally adjusted monthly fall since March 2020, when numbers fell 20.9 percent.

For the past couple of years there has been a rise in the number of new homes consented between January and February. This rise was much smaller in February 2021. This is partly due to the strong January 2021 month, as well as the timing of multi-unit home projects. Adjusting for the normal seasonal pattern, this has led to a large fall.

"We have not seen the typical February rebound in the number of new homes consented after the usual summer holiday dip, but this follows high levels at the end of 2020," Mr Heslop said.

The seasonally adjusted number of stand-alone houses increased by 1.8 percent in February compared with January.

Multi-unit home consents are more volatile than stand-alone houses and can move up or down significantly each month, so it can take many months before trends are clear. These consents are more often for bigger projects, which can include many homes.

"Consents for large multi-unit projects like apartment blocks are less common, so these consents can have a significant impact on the overall monthly number of new homes consented. It is more common for these consents to involve dozens of homes," Mr Heslop said.

Non-residential construction

The total value of all non-residential consents in the year ended February 2021 was down 2.7 percent compared with the same period in 2020.

The biggest drops in actual values came from shops, restaurants, and bars (-$298 million), social, cultural, and religious buildings (-$192 million), and hostels, boarding houses, and prisons (-$178 million).

Consents for education buildings grew the most in the year ended February 2021, increasing by $267 million. Storage buildings increased by $232 million.

By region and building type, Auckland experienced the biggest changes. Commercial buildings in Auckland dropped by more than $300 million in the year ended February 2021 compared with February 2020. This was contrasted by an increase of over $150 million for factories, industrial, and storage buildings in Auckland.