Fall in Auckland building consents

The number of new dwelling consents in Auckland fell to 651 in May, according to the latest Statistics New Zealand data.

This was a sharp decline from 912 new dwelling consents in April and 756 in March.

However, Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon said the main driver of the Auckland figures was a drop in the multiples category (apartments, townhouses and units), from 525 in April to 207 in May.

“That's no real cause for concern, as this category is quite volatile and the April total was the second-highest in the last decade.”

Gordon said that, notwithstanding the latest monthly figures, the centre of gravity in the homebuilding industry is clearly shifting from Canterbury to Auckland.

“The residential side of the post-quake rebuild is now well advanced, while Auckland still requires a further lift in building activity to meet population growth.”

The Statistics New Zealand data backs this view up.

While the new dwellings consent trend is now at a 10-year high in Auckland, Canterbury’s trend is falling.

Business Indicators manager Neil Kelly said the trend for Canterbury is decreasing and has fallen 17% since the series peak in August 2014.

The trend is still three times as high as the most-recent low point in March 2011.

But in May 2015, 549 new dwellings were consented in Canterbury – which was down 9.3% from May 2014 – and was the fifth annual decrease in a row.

Nationally, new dwelling consents have increased slightly over the past year.

In May 2015, 2,171 new dwellings were consented – which was up 2.2% compared with May 2014.

However, in seasonally adjusted terms, the number was unchanged from April 2015.

For houses only, the seasonally adjusted number rose 2.4%, reversing a 1.8% fall in April.

Kelly said that numbers are approaching the level seen between 2005 and 2007, but are still well below the highs reached in 2004.

The trend for the number of new dwellings consented has more than doubled since the series low point in March 2011, he said.

“But, the trend is currently only increasing very slightly, and is still 25% below the series peak in February 2004.”

The total value of consents for all buildings in May 2015 was $1.4 billion. This was made up of $868 million for residential buildings and $486 million for non-residential buildings.