The number of new homes being built in Auckland has declined from about 1200 a month to 1100 a month over the last year

There was a decline in the number of new homes completed in Auckland in September, although numbers remain well up compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Auckland Council issued 1034 Code Compliance Certificates (CCCs) for new dwellings in September, down from 1320 (-21.7%) in August.

That was the lowest number of new dwelling completions in any month since April this year, although it remained up by 14% on the 909 new dwellings completed in Auckland in September 2019, before the Covid pandemic disrupted the construction industry.

However the monthly figures in Auckland can be volatile because of the high number of multi-unit projects such as apartments being built in the city, but even allowing for that, new home completions in the region have been tracking slightly lower since April this year.

Using a rolling monthly average over 12 months suggests new home completions peaked at just over 1200 a month in June last year and have since  declined by about 8% to just over 1100 in September this year, which means on average about 100 fewer homes are being completed each month compared to last year's peak.

There was also an improvement in the length of time it took to complete projects in September.

Prior to the pandemic disruptions hitting the construction sector it was common for more than 90% of projects to have received their CCCs, which are issued by the council when a dwelling is completed, within two years of having received their building consents.

That time frame has stretched out over the last three years as supply chain disruptions, lockdowns and other pandemic-related events took their toll, which meant many projects took longer to complete.

Last year the number of new dwellings that received their CCC within two years of receiving their building consent bottomed out at 57% and by August this year it was back up to 75%.

In September this year 82% of the new dwellings completed in Auckland received their CCC within two years of being issued with a building consent, suggesting build times are starting to come back down and supply pressures may be starting to ease.

However there's still a way to go before they get back to pre-pandemic levels.

A more detailed analysis of building consent trends in Auckland and other regions, including data on estimated building costs, is available on our Residential Building Consent Analysis page.

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