Residential building consents

Residential construction roars ahead in January

1 Mar 2019
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Brad Olsen

Our take on the latest Residential building consents (Fri 1 Mar 2019)

Yearly house building hit a 44-year high
Consents rose 30%pa in January
Attached dwelling consents up 22%pa

The key numbers...

  • January showed annual consents at a 44-year high and is a positive sign that the construction market continues to try and make inroads into the country’s housing undersupply.
  • However, today’s record-breaking figures still aren’t enough to address the undersupply issue, particularly in Auckland.
  • It is also important to recognise that consents are just an expression of building intentions, rather than actual activity. We expect issues with non-residential suppliers, financing, and sourcing staff to remain a restraint on activity moving forward.

Annual dwelling consents

3137

...and our reaction

  • Dwelling consents surged in January, up 30%pa. This growth saw year-end dwelling consents hit 33,576, the highest number of consents since February 1975.
  • Auckland again led this rise, with 20%pa growth over the year to January 2019 taking total consents for Auckland to a new record of 13,272.
  • Both Wellington and Waikato also posted large increases, of 18%pa and 8.1%pa respectively. Canterbury fell 3.2%pa.
  • Attached dwelling consent numbers rose 22%pa over the year to January 2019, with a record 12,306 attached dwellings consented. 

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