NZ residential building consents jump 20% in July, driven by Auckland intentions

Monday 31st August 2015

New Zealand residential building consents jumped by a fifth in July, turning around a decline in June, and spurred by increased construction intentions in Auckland.

Seasonally adjusted consents climbed to 2,525 in July, from 2,096 a month earlier, according to Statistics New Zealand. Of that, house building consents gained 12 percent to 1,710 in the month.

On an unadjusted basis, new dwelling consents rose 24 percent to 2,824 from July 2014, led by a 54 percent jump in intentions to build townhouses, flats and units, and a 21 percent rise in new apartment permits. Dwelling consents were up 8.4 percent on an annual basis to 25,696.

Auckland accounted for about 40 percent of all new consents in July, with a total of 1,116, up from 849 permits in the same month a year earlier. Canterbury was the next biggest regional contributor with 650 permits, compared to 609 in July 2014.

New Zealand's biggest city is expected to account for the bulk of the country's construction activity over the next six years as it tries to make up for a period of subdued building work after the collapse of the finance sector left a funding hole for property development, and led to a shortfall in housing stock as record inbound net migration bolsters Auckland's population.

The value of non-residential work fell 11 percent to $455 million in July from the same month a year earlier, for a 13 percent annual increase to $5.3 billion. The value of all residential permits, including alterations rose 11 percent to $976 million in July, and were up an annual 9.5 percent to $9.89 billion.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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