A jump in the number of new homes consented in March may signal an end to the downward slide in new residential construction that has occurred over the last two years.
According to Statistics NZ, 3398 new dwellings were consented throughout the country in March.
That's up 15.9% compared to March last year, and was the highest number of new dwellings consented in any month of the year since June 2023.
Although one month's figures don't make a trend, the fact the 34,062 new dwellings consented in the March-year was down just 3.3% compared to the previous 12 months, following a 24.9% decline the previous year, suggests the downward spiral in new dwelling consents may at least have bottomed out, or even started ticking back up.
March monthly growth in consents was particularly strong for townhouses and home units, with 1452 consented during the month. That's up 12.0% compared to March last year. There was also a surge in new apartments, with 495 consented in March, up 121.0% compared to March last year.
Stand alone houses were also on the up, with 1374 consented in March, up 9.8% compared to March last year.
Retirement village units were the only category of dwellings to remain in the doldrums, with just 77 consented in March, down 51.6% compared to March last year.
The total construction value of the new dwellings consented in March was $1.41 billion. That's up 7.9% compared to March last year, another positive indicator for residential construction.
Around the regions the results were mixed, with some regions posting significant increases in dwelling consents issued in March compared to a year ago, and others posting declines.
The number of new dwellings consented in each region in March and the change from March last year were as follows:
Northland 53 (-58.6%), Auckland 1535 (+21.9%), Waikato 294 (+9.3%), Bay of Plenty 118 (+1.7%), Gisborne 8 (+33.3%), Hawke's Bay 36 (-20.0%), Taranaki 35 (+45.8%), Manawatu/Whanganui 96 (+29.7%), Wellington Region 348 (+30.8%), Tasman 9 (-43.8%), Nelson 13 (+18.2%), Marlborough 13 (+116.7%), West Coast 13 (-7.1%), Canterbury 532 (-0.2%), Otago 255 (+80.9%), Southland 40 (+73.9%).
While it is still to early to say if the latest figures represent a turnaround in residential construction activity, they will nonetheless be welcome news for an industry that has had little to cheer about over the last couple of years.
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8 Comments
Auckland up 21.9% wow.
Coyote d' leveraged will take major issue with this...
Flood the market I say ✅
Wellington 30.8%? Really? Would be interested in a deeper dive into these numbers. Where what for who and by who?
Just via anecdote, at the moment a lot of domestic house construction is for larger footprint, higher end house building. Very little low cost/entry level subdivision housing.
Wonder how much is social housing. Isn't Wellington City Council big on social housing?
This is just another "RB announces interest rates cuts" bounce from last year. Expect skidding along the bottom to resume.
Consented doesn't actually mean something is going to get built.
Measures of actual activity, like hours worked, might be a better measure, if not a leading one.
If it's consented, it's likely to be built, given the sunk costs getting to that point.
Hours worked is tricky, as much work is done for a fixed price, so hours often aren't something recorded.
I guess you could look at amount earned by construction sector businesses.
Are we now back to having a minimum of a year to have a house built, single storey residential, no mansion size >200m2? Maybe even eighteen months with builders being able to pick and choose what they want? I hope not.
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