Boom in house-building strongest since 1970s

New house-building consents racked up their highest August number in more than 25 years, latest figures from Statistics New Zealand show.

There is a dire shortage of homes in New Zealand because of the arrival of more than 40,000 new migrants in the past year, and the building boom will help balance the supply and demand.

That may slow down raging house prices, up 14 per cent in a year, but economists are not picking this to happen for at least another year.

"I think that is going to take about 12 to 18 months," BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander said. "With the boom in migration there is a lot of increased demand for housing and it is going to take quite some time for the supply to catch up."...

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