Consents for new homes rise

The number of new housing units authorised (excluding apartments) rose 10 percent in February 2010 when adjusted for seasonal effects, Statistics New Zealand said today. This follows a 1.0 percent increase in January 2010 and brings the number of housing units authorised to its highest level since May 2008.

When the volatile apartment category is included, the number of new housing units authorised rose 5.9 percent when adjusted for seasonal effects. "The trend for new housing units has been increasing since early 2009 but is showing signs of flattening in recent months," business statistics manager Louise Holmes-Oliver said. "However, the trend remains at a low level, and is almost a third lower than the recent peak in June 2007."

In February 2010, residential building consents were issued for:

1,362 new housing units (excluding apartments)
13 new apartment units, the lowest monthly number since July 1995.

For the year ended February 2010, the value of consents issued for residential buildings fell $471 million (8.2 percent), while the value for non-residential buildings fell $266 million (5.8 percent), compared with the year ended February 2009.