NZ residential building consents rise 2.6% in October
Record net migration is putting pressure on the nation's housing market.
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New Zealand's residential building consents rose for the first month in four in October, boosted by two apartment projects in Wellington.
Seasonally adjusted dwelling consents increased 2.6% to 2683 in October, following declines in July, August and September, Statistics NZ said. Permits for new houses fell 1.3% to 1788, following a 2.7% decline in September. The monthly figures were bolstered by a jump in Wellington permits, which rose 140% to 303 due to two apartment projects. Canterbury had the largest drop in consents, down 21% to 387 as earthquake rebuild activity slowed.
Record net migration is putting pressure on the nation's housing market and a shortage of supply is pushing up prices in Auckland, the country's largest city, making accommodation unaffordable for many. Today's data shows the number of homes consented rose 14% to 30,161 in the year through October, the first time in 11 years that the annual figure has passed 30,000. Auckland accounted for a third of the annual tally, with consents of 9947, although still less than the 13,000 estimated to be needed to keep up with an expanding population.
"Building in Auckland is still failing to keep up with population growth," Westpac Banking Corp senior economist Satish Ranchhod said. " At the same time, housing consent issuance in Canterbury has continued to slow. That was to be expected after a period of very strong activity in recent years, and we expect this trend to continue into the new year."
The value of building consents rose 6% to $1.66 billion in October from September. Residential building consent increased 7.3% in value to $1.14 billion, while non-residential permits increased 3.4% to $526 million.
(BusinessDesk)
Tina Morrison
Mon, 19 Dec 2016
Mon, 19 Dec 2016
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NZ residential building consents rise 2.6% in October
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