Record number of new homes consented on North Island

Statistics New Zealand announced today that the annual number of new homes consented in the North Island was 29,310 in November 2020 – the highest number since the regional series began in March 1991.

Nationally, the number of new homes consented in the year to November 2020 was 38,624, up 4.2 percent from 2019. The national annual total is the highest since July 1974, when 38,904 new homes were consented.

Construction statistics manager Michael Heslop commented: “Auckland, Hawke’s Bay, and Taranaki had record levels of new homes consented in the November 2020 year. These consents are an intention to build, and most home construction is completed within a year or two after a consent is granted, though Covid-19 may have caused delays for some projects.”

In Auckland, the number of new homes consented per 1,000 residents increased by 0.7 to 9.5 in the year ended November 2020, up significantly from the Auckland series low of 2.2 seen in the year ended August 2009.

Canterbury had similar results, increasing by 0.6 to 9.0 new homes consented per 1,000 residents. As part of the post-quake rebuild in Canterbury, the number of new homes consented per 1,000 residents peaked at 12.8 in the December 2014 year.

Auckland’s population in June 2020 was 1,717,500, accounting for around 44.1 percent of the North Island’s population. Canterbury’s population of 645,900 accounted for 54.4 percent of the South Island’s population.

“Townhouses, flats, and units have been a major driver of housing growth in recent years. Auckland in particular has seen a rapid increase in the number of medium- to high-density housing being consented,” Mr Heslop added.

Seasonally adjusted number of new homes consented

Some periods of the year typically experience higher or lower numbers of new homes consented, so accounting for seasonality allows us to better compare numbers between periods (see Impact of COVID-19 on seasonally adjusted and trend series).

The seasonally adjusted number of new homes consented rose 1.2 percent in November 2020, following a rise of 8.9 percent in October.

The seasonally adjusted number of new stand-alone houses consented increased by 4.9 percent in November, following a fall of 4.9 percent in October.

There were large fluctuations in consent numbers between March 2020 (down 21.3 percent) and May 2020 (up 40.8 percent) due to COVID-19, when many businesses and construction projects temporarily closed.

The number of new homes consented each month can also vary significantly due to the timing of large multi-home projects, such as apartment buildings.