Our take on the latest Residential building consents (Thu 30 Jul 2020)
Dwelling consents
3,477
In June 2020
Townhouse consents rise 25%pa in June quarter
Total consents unchanged in June 2020 quarter compared to last year
The key numbers...
- Consent issuance remained buoyant in the June month, with a 20%pa rise in consents compared to June 2019 – the first month of annual growth since before lockdown began.
- Overall, the rebound in May and June has meant the number of consents issued over the June 2020 quarter was unchanged from a year earlier.
- Townhouse consents in the June month topped more than 1,000 for the first time on record, pushing consents over the quarter 25%pa higher.
- Apartments (down 29%pa) and retirement units (down 3.4%pa) weren’t as rosy, but the sheer strength of townhouse consents boosted total attached dwelling consents up 3.8%pa in the June 2020 quarter, balancing out the 2.8%pa decline in standalone houses consented.
Attached dwelling consents
Annual running totals
...and our reaction
- Consenting activity has rallied remarkably well post-lockdown, with consent numbers over the last year (even accounting for the soft March and April figures) still remaining at over 37,600.
- Softer pricing for apartments, coupled with low credit availability, has pushed high-density housing additions lower in recent months, and we expect that this housing type will continue to fall away.
- The need for denser housing, but limits on apartment financing, will support townhouse building activity. With the government’s state housing programme likely to have a large number of townhouses too, there is greater resilience in this building type through the downturn.
- Infometrics still expects that construction levels will fall away in 2021, but there appears to be an air of calm at present as builders get on with the current pipeline of works.
- Our conversations, backed up by a recent Master Builders Association survey, highlights that the pipeline of work into 2021 is starting to look patchier, with lower volumes anticipated.
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Wed 3 Jun 2026
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Fri 1 May 2026
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37,813 Annual consents over March 2026 year
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