New housing consents continue to rise

In October 2009, the seasonally adjusted number of new housing units authorised (excluding apartments) rose 11 percent, Statistics New Zealand said today. This follows a 3.5 percent rise in September 2009 and brings the number of consents to its highest since June 2008. When apartments are included, the number of new housing units rose 12 percent.

The trend for the number of new housing units authorised (excluding apartments) has increased by one-third since March 2009, following a series of falls that began in July 2007. Including apartments, the trend has increased by over 20 percent since the low in January 2009.

Building consents were issued for 1,321 new housing units (excluding apartments) in October 2009. Consents were issued for 103 new apartment units.

The value of residential building consents ($481 million) was 59 percent of all building consents in October 2009, compared with a monthly average of 52 percent for the previous 12 months. The value of non-residential building consents was $329 million. The largest contribution to the non-residential value came from the social, cultural, and religious buildings category (26 percent), which was boosted by a number of sports facilities.

Geoff Bascand 30 November 2009

Government Statistician