Building consents for Auckland homes rose in June to 704 from 599.
Building consents for Auckland homes rose in June to 704 from 599.
New Zealand residential building consents fell 4.1 per cent in June as construction intentions in Canterbury tapered off, with the region's housing rebuild nearing a plateau.
Seasonally adjusted consents for all dwelling types dropped to 2,058 in June from 2,146 in May, according to Statistics New Zealand. New house consentsdeclined 0.4 per cent to 1,519.
On an adjusted basis, dwelling consents rose 7.9 per cent to 2,042 from the same month a year earlier, as intentions to build new retirement units, townhouses, offset a drop in plans for new apartments. New housing consents increased 0.8 per cent to 1,502. Canterbury consents fell to 544 from 623 a year earlier, while Auckland permits rose to 704 from 599.
"Auckland residential consents issuance continued to grind higher on a trend basis," said ASB Bank economist Jane Turner. "But it is still below levels required to provide meaningful improvement of Auckland's housing under supply. Over the next year, we expect to see an increase in apartment and townhouse consents to drive a further lift in consent issuance, as high land prices encourage denser housing solutions.
"New dwelling consents growth this month was led by Auckland, which offset the fall in Canterbury," business indicators manager Clara Eatherley said.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's 2015 National Construction Pipeline Report, released yesterday, shows $209.4 billion of work projected over the next six years, peaking in 2016 at $36.5 billion of work. While the value of work is likely to reach a record, the volume is lagging behind due to the increased cost of building.
Today's data show annual residential issuance rose 7.9 per cent to 25,154, with new housing consents flat at 17,917.
The value of residential permits rose 9 per cent to $689 million in June from a year earlier, for an 11 per cent annual gain to $8.08 billion. The value of non-residential work fell 7.5 per cent to $454 million in June, for a 17 per cent annual increase to $5.36 billion.
