Almost 1000 new homes a week being consented

Property / news

$31.5 billion of new building work consented in the year to June

1st Aug 22, 12:16pm by Greg Ninness

New homes are continuing to be consented at the rate of almost 1000 a week, despite the headwinds buffeting the housing market.

According to Statistics NZ, 50,736 new dwellings were consented in the 12 months to the end of June, up 14.4% compared to the previous 12 months.

It was the fourth consecutive month that the number of new dwelling consents has been above 50,000 on a rolling 12 month basis.

The growth has mainly been driven by consents for low rise, multi-unit dwellings such as townhouses and units, with 20,184 consented in the June year , up 49.1% compared to the previous 12 months.

However stand-alone houses remain the most popular type of dwelling, with 23,913 consented in the June year , down 2.5% compared to the previous 12 months.

There were also 3913 apartments consented in the June year, down 6.1% on the previous 12 month, and 2726 retirement village units, up 30.2%.

The total value of new dwellings consented in the year to June was just under $20 billion, up 20.5% on the previous 12 months, with another $2.5 billion of structural alteration work consented, up 13.3% on the previous 12 months.

Additionally non-residential building work continues to be consented at a cracking pace.

In the 12 months to June $9 billion of non-residential building work was consented, up 15.8% compared to the 12 months to June 2021.

That took the total value of all building work consented for the June year (residential and non-residential) to $31.5 billion, up 18.5% on the previous 12 months.

The interactive tables below show the trends in the number of residential consents issued nationally by dwelling type and the total number of residential consents issued each month by region.

The comment stream on this story is now closed.

Building consents - type

Select chart tabs

Source: Statistics NZ

Building consents - residential

Select chart tabs

Source: Statistics NZ

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38 Comments

by Sendatsu | 1st Aug 22, 12:35pm 1659314140

Ireland.

Although that said, we don't have an oversupply of housing like they did. Might get there if we build too many units and fail to invest in infrastructure and the economy. People have to want to live here, and from what I'm hearing those that do are in the minority.

by Roger the dodger | 1st Aug 22, 12:38pm 1659314321

What makes you think we don't have an oversupply?

I think it is highly likely that we do.

by Gummy Bear Hero | 1st Aug 22, 1:16pm 1659316593

... 480 people sleeping in cars ... 24 000 on housing NZ waiting list ... I'm not seeing an oversupply ...

by Retired-Poppy | 1st Aug 22, 1:31pm 1659317515

... there's certainly an oversupply of expensive housing.

by Advisor | 1st Aug 22, 2:07pm 1659319637

Value for money is so beyond eroded in the property market. A block of 1-bedroom boxes, each selling for $650k, came up in my suburb a few months ago with no parking or open spaces. I feel so sorry for the nice, young families walking in and out of it, living the Kiwi dream!

In NZ, the young should only expect in return for spending their life savings and future income is their name on a title and freedom from being evicted by a landlord. No first-world design or living standards in sight.

by RickStrauss | 3rd Aug 22, 1:18pm 1659489485

Simple changes to tax and zoning policy would go a long way to sorting this out. Greedy entitlement mentality stands in the way.

by JustAnOpinion | 1st Aug 22, 1:40pm 1659318009

Indeed. Perhaps the price crash will allow the Government to utilise the Kianga Ora to pick up this stock?

by Roger the dodger | 1st Aug 22, 1:52pm 1659318721

Yes, the rate at which the govt is driving people into dependancy on the state for housing exceeds the rate of state house purchases.

But that has nothing to do with a housing shortage

by company of heroes | 1st Aug 22, 2:06pm 1659319579

What you are talking about is poverty and homelessness issue. Lots of rental places are struggling to find long term tenants.

by WellingtonInvestor | 1st Aug 22, 2:16pm 1659320184

But how many houses are empty or turned into AirBNBs. Many landlords only want to rent to people that they know will take good care of their house. Many people don't look after things.

by Nzdan | 1st Aug 22, 3:56pm 1659326205

Could say there's an oversupply of Mercedes Benz's in New Zealand judging by the amount of people standing at the bus stop.

by kpnuts | 1st Aug 22, 3:57pm 1659326251

30,000 empty homes in Auckland -- if interest rate rises and price decreases put those on the market for rental again .....

Rents still too high for the majority of those people you identify -- and many of the 24000 are currently in garages and overcrowded situations -- they just acant afford private rentals -- or have several dogs -- and other factors that landlords dont like -- like long non payment histories etc

by user123 | 1st Aug 22, 2:48pm 1659322117

No one sees the oversupply until it's too late and it's only clear with hindsight. If those Irish developers had seen their oversupply they wouldn't broken ground on all the projects that ened up half completed.

While I don't actually think there is currently a significant oversupply problem in NZ, I doubt we have the shortage we used to.

by theglc | 1st Aug 22, 4:13pm 1659327209

A lot of these consented builds wont happen.

There is an ever increasing supply of new builds coming on the market that just arnt moving.

These need to sell to finance the next project...

by OldSkoolEconomics | 2nd Aug 22, 6:41am 1659379270

Yes i would imagine builders and developers are still moving with the same processes and momentum as last year. Getting consent for the next one(s) whilst finishing the prepaid ones from the good old times.

Will take a while to flow through. I saw the other day that enquiries for new builds have dropped 80%.. so building will presumably also drop by 80%.

by Retired-Poppy | 1st Aug 22, 12:44pm 1659314644

🍀💣⬇️

by Rob Reid | 1st Aug 22, 2:45pm 1659321958

Sydney.

by Pa1nter | 1st Aug 22, 2:51pm 1659322311

Depends who you're listening to. If you listen to online discussion, NZ is a dystopic wasteland people should flee from immediately.

The problem with these consent figures is they're a gauge of sentiment from 3-6 months ago, so it'll be interesting to see what amount of it comes to light over the next 12-24 months.

by Brock Landers | 1st Aug 22, 8:53pm 1659343985

I think that's a mischaracterization.

It's just a hugely overrated and overpriced backwater that is circling the drain while everyone plays identity politics to avoid dying of boredom.

That people should flee from immediately.

✈️✅

by WellingtonInvestor | 1st Aug 22, 6:17pm 1659334640

One problem is that we are building a lot of 'dwellings' that people don't really want to live in. These multilevel units all crammed in together. The other thing that is a ticking time bomb is future maintenance. It is very expensive to maintain multilevel high intensive housing, compared to a single level stand alone dwelling. There was an article about this a few years ago. IMO we are going to end up with a lot of ugly white elephants that will have a relatively short life.

by Peter M | 1st Aug 22, 12:41pm 1659314490

It is not about how many dwellings are consented but how many dwellings have received a building code of compliance. Consents is only showing an intention to build something in the future. We should implement planning rules from some of the EU countries in which the land will be repossesed, against the original price the council sold the land, from you if you not starting to build within 3 months of receiving a building consent.

by Grattaway | 1st Aug 22, 1:12pm 1659316351

Which territorial authority do you work for - Just so I know not to move there

by Befuddled | 1st Aug 22, 2:07pm 1659319646

Believe it or not - this is exactly the kind of alternate reality world view I have come to expect from someone working in Government, so your flippant comment might not be so undeserved.

I have had a senior Building Inspector state that we should have carried out invasive investigations (involving ripping apart an occupied commercial building) BEFORE we commenced design work or applied for a Building Consent, and that the Building Act was not suitable for renovations to existing buildings.

Yep - Council requirements can be completely removed from reality.

by WellingtonInvestor | 1st Aug 22, 2:19pm 1659320387

Yes, I do wonder why they don't quote that. They are making the numbers look better than they really are because there are always going to be consents issued that are never built.

There is not need for repossession. Just require councils rate on the LV. Some councils do this now, and it is a fairer way to do things. Also a empty home tax for houses left empty, they do this ins Australia https://www.sro.vic.gov.au/videos/vacant-residential-land-tax#:~:text=T…;

by Dgm | 1st Aug 22, 12:46pm 1659314794

Oversupply very soon

by WellingtonInvestor | 1st Aug 22, 2:21pm 1659320504

I always thought there wasn't a 'shortage of houses'. The shortage was the number of houses being sold on the market during the last few years.But that has now changed. Supply and demand is controlled using the tap at the border.

by Gummy Bear Hero | 1st Aug 22, 1:14pm 1659316461

... in just 2 years the market left to it's own devices has consented as many homes as Labour's " Kiwibuild " promised in 10 years ...

Except , KB only got 1300 of those 100 000 actually constructed ... after 4 years ...

by chebbo | 1st Aug 22, 4:02pm 1659326558

Labour promised to actually build houses though, not just get them consented. These ones won't be getting built either.

by WellingtonInvestor | 1st Aug 22, 2:13pm 1659320006

Just because a consent to build gets issued, doesn't mean it gets built. My town issued far more consents than building inspections. The number that counts at the end of the day is the number of COCs issued, which shows the house has been built.

by Rob Reid | 1st Aug 22, 3:21pm 1659324111

A forward indicator like consents is more timely and less accurate - tradeoffs like this always suck.

by Nzdan | 1st Aug 22, 4:08pm 1659326898

"Consents issued that are never built". It's kind of a mute point though, because on average there will be a percentage of consents that do and don't get processed. If consents double, then it would be reasonable to assume that CoC's would also roughly double.

Here's some completed CoC's numbers (2nd graph in the below link):

https://www.stats.govt.nz/experimental/experimental-building-indicators…

by ibas | 1st Aug 22, 4:20pm 1659327644

.. Nzdan just beat me to it

by nktokyo | 1st Aug 22, 5:49pm 1659332993

Irrelevant when sales have fallen 80%, immigration is being restricted and lending has dried up. These consents would all have been from months and months ago.

by Mr Pink | 1st Aug 22, 6:15pm 1659334508

Will It wasnt one of mine , Ive been waiting 7 months for a building consent so I call that 1000 a week Bullsht. Councils havent enough staff to complete the consenting process because its soo long and drawn out. Ive build 2 x 60m2 units by myself in the last 7 months. It really is a joke.

by John2 | 1st Aug 22, 8:09pm 1659341386

Consents is one thing (its going up/down like a yo yo by the graph- so not accurate

Getting it actually built is another

by John2 | 1st Aug 22, 8:21pm 1659342087

And so who is building?

https://www.interest.co.nz/business/116935/collapse-residential-constru…

I see new ones coming in the market next year will barely be profitable.

by WellingtonInvestor | 1st Aug 22, 10:53pm 1659351219

The cost to buy a newly built home in a sub division in my region has probably dropped about 15%. They were going for about $850k last year, not they can't sell them for $725 and lower. Yety the cost to build has risen. Some builders who have built spec houses must be worried. Seen quite a few houses with private sale signs in the windows of the houses. Others have been turned into rentals.

by Takere | 2nd Aug 22, 10:54am 1659394445

Can you live in a consent?