A record 1949 new homes were completed in Auckland in October

By Greg Ninness

New dwellings are continuing to be built at a record rate in Auckland.

Auckland Council issued a record 1949 Code Compliance Certificates (CCCs) for new dwellings in October, surpassing September's record of 1927.

Both months were the first time the number of CCCs issued by the council for new dwellings in any month had passed 1800 since the council began compiling the figures in their current format 10 years ago.

CCCs are issued when a building is completed, making them the most reliable indicator of new housing supply, unlike building consents which are issued before building work commences, making them an indicator of future supply.

The current rate of completions is at a record high on both a monthly and rolling two month basis, with 17,558 CCCs issued for new dwellings in Auckland in the 12 months to November.

However building consents for new dwellings are in decline. The number of consents issued in Auckland in October was down 24% compared to October last year, which means new home completions will start declining at some stage.

The current record number of new home completions may be the result of fewer new building projects being started, which means builders have more resources available to focus on completing existing projects already underway.

So the currently high level of completions is probably at or near the crest of a wave of new residential building work.

It will be interesting to see if dwelling completions in the Auckland regions reach the benchmark of 2000 a month before the wave breaks and the tide of new construction work starts to retreat.

This story was originally published on Interest.co.nz and has been republished here with permission.