Over 35,000 homes consented in July year

The number of new homes consented reached 35,472 in the year ended July 2019, the most consented in a year since the mid-1970s, Stats NZ said today.

This is the first time the number of new homes consented in a year has been over 35,000 since December 1974 (when 35,036 new homes were consented).

"Although we are now consenting over 35,000 new homes a year, this is still below the record 40,025 new homes consented at the peak in the February 1974 year," construction statistics manager Melissa McKenzie said.

The population of New Zealand in the mid-1970s was around 3 million, compared with about 4.9 million today.

The number of new homes consented increased 8.0 percent in the year ended July 2019 compared with the previous July year, boosted by records in both Auckland (14,236) and Waikato (4,102).

"Canterbury also consented more new homes in the July 2019 year than the previous year. While below the peak of 2014, the level of new homes consented was above those seen prior to earthquake rebuild activities that began in 2011."

Slight fall in monthly new homes consented

In seasonally adjusted terms, the number of new homes consented fell in the last two months - down 1.3 percent in July 2019 from June 2019 when it fell 4.0 percent. These falls follow a strong 15 percent rise in May 2019.

The number of homes consented each month can vary significantly due to timing of large multi-dwelling projects, such as townhouses and apartment buildings.