Building momentum stalls

Auckland remains the most expensive region to rent a home. Photo / 123RF

The seasonally adjusted number of new homes consented fell 7.6 per cent in April. The fall followed a 1.2 per cent drop in March, and a 15 per cent rise in February.

"Councils don't usually issue building consents on public holidays, so the timing of Easter drove a fall in April's building consents," says Statistics NZ's Neil Kelly.

On an annual basis, home consents have reached a 12-year high this year, with more than 30,000 new homes being consented a year, says Kelly.

In the year ended April, 30,371 new homes were consented - up 8.3 per cent from the previous 12 months, and the most for an April year since 2004.

Rent trends
Barfoot & Thompson has released details of rental price increases during the past 20 years.

Rodney has gone from being the second cheapest area to rent a home into the second highest. It's seen a gain of 133 per cent, with the Auckland average having risen by 92 per cent.

Auckland remains the most expensive region to rent a home. In March the average weekly rent was $529, followed by Wellington at $468.

For most of the past 10 years, the North Shore has had the highest weekly rent with an average of $563.

On Monday
Free with Monday's Herald is the quarterly Property Report. In this edition we look at the meth testing industry and uncover the real risks posed to people who live in homes with traces of the drug.

We review the current housing landscape and, given more people are renting a home in New Zealand, we ask if it is time to beef up tenants' rights to help renters feel more secure.

There's a report on the lease issues affecting some properties bordering Cornwall Park and we examine the pros and cons of selling up to live in a retirement village.

The Property Report is a packed edition that includes house prices for more than 420 suburbs across the North Island thanks to Quotable Value.