Govt welcomes consent figures

Building consents for the year to the end of July were 23,659 nationally, 7119 in Auckland and 3776 in Christchurch, representing growth of 23%, 30% and 109%, respectively.

In July, the number of dwellings consented rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1% from the month before. There were 2282 dwellings consented, including 373 apartments. Of those, 849 were in Auckland and 609 were in Canterbury.

Almost $1.4 billion of building work was consented in July, with $876 million of residential work and $512 million of non-residential work.

Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith said: “These building consent figures show the Housing Accord in Auckland is delivering record residential building growth and that the Christchurch residential rebuild is progressing at pace. The annual rate of growth in Auckland of 30% is the highest in a decade, reflecting the efforts by Government and Council to free up land supply and fast-track consents.”

He said the statistics proved the housing reforms were working.

“We are increasing land supply and speeding up consent process through our Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas legislation. In Auckland alone, we have so far announced 63 Special Housing Areas, with a potential yield of 33,500 homes. I expect to make an announcement on the fourth tranche of Special Housing Areas in coming weeks.”