Building consents and the construction of new houses have shot up sharply in Northland - but the region is struggling with a shortage of skilled tradespeople.
Statistics New Zealand figures reveal an increase in building consents in Northland of 53 per cent in February compared with the same month in 2013.
Consents worth $20 million for 69 new Northland houses were issued in February, compared with 62 the previous month and 45 worth $11 million in February last year.
But builders the Northern Advocate spoke to said many tradespeople from Northland, particularly young builders, have moved to Australia, Christchurch or to other places after having difficulty finding work in the past couple of years.
The surge in building consents and new builds started about November and December last year, they said.