Apartment demand still building

By ANNE GIBSON

In a pre-Christmas rush of resource consent applications, developers are seeking to build nearly 800 new apartments in Auckland.

Juliet Yates, chairwoman of Auckland City Council's regulatory and fixtures sub-committee, summarised the list of resource consent applications granted in October and last month.

These show the city's most active developers have a full workload in front of them and that the city's skyline is about to change rapidly.

But rising construction costs are scaring developers, with one citing a 25 per cent rise this year which he said could stop the apartment building boom suddenly.

So blocks which had been pre-sold might not be built because rising building costs would make development unfeasible.

Hammer hands who were getting $15 an hour earlier this year are now being paid up to $35 an hour. Fletcher Construction has advertised for staff in South Africa and Britain and cost increases are across the board.

* Nigel McKenna's Melview Developments got approval to build a 159-unit block of seven levels at 131 Beach Rd.

* Eden Crescent Developments - whose directors include Kerry Hitchcock - was granted permission to build a 52-unit block of 14 levels at 34-36 Eden Crescent.

* Bankside Developments can build a 99-unit block of 18 levels at 5 Princes St.

* Oriental, whose directors include Tony Gapes and Chong Du Cheng, got approval to build Scene Two, a 102-unit block of 15 levels alongside Scene One, an apartment block already under construction. Scene Two will be at 2-30 Beach Rd.

* Starline Group can build a 132-unit six-level block with 142 carparks at 12-16 Te Taou Crescent. This is in the Quay Park area near the former Auckland Railway Station where brothers Mat and Jamie Peters have been busy.

* Tony and Selina Tay's Jireh Customs got approval for a 247-unit apartment block with shops at 79 Customs St East.

Ian Mitchell of property consultants DTZ released a study early this year estimating $3 billion worth of apartments were being built and predicting the city's stock of 7250 units would be at least 11,000 units by the end of this year.

One of the city's busiest apartment developers, Robert Holden of Conrad Properties, has 1200 units under construction in Auckland and another 1200 planned.

"We have about $300 million worth of property planned and under completion," Holden said last week.

Demand was unsatisfied and investors were keen to buy more.

Developments

* Auckland City will have at least 11,000 apartments by year's end.

* Developers applied to build 791 units in just two months.

* Only one major CBD office block is being built - the new 28-level Simpson Grierson tower on Shortland St.

* Developers say investor demand is unsatisfied.

* Rising building costs could stymie growth.