Housing construction activity is continuing to surge, according to the latest Statistics New Zealand figures.
Statistics NZ said that in January there was a 9.6% rise in the number of consents for non-apartment dwellings compared with the previous month. However, when the notoriously variable apartment numbers are included, the seasonally adjusted number of all new dwellings slipped by 0.4 percent. This decrease was due to January's relatively low number of apartments. In December there had been a strong gain in apartment numbers.
The trend for the number of new houses consented has risen 50 percent since March 2011.
"We've seen continuous steady growth in the trend for the number of new houses consented since March 2011. Over 22 months, the trend has increased by 50 percent," Statistics NZ's industry and labour statistics manager Blair Cardno said.
Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon said the bank's view was that construction would continue to boost economic growth over the next two years, "largely but not totally due to post-quake building needs".
He said that Auckland consent figures in the past month were the highest since late 2007, although they were still not much more than half of the peak levels seen in 2003.
"Auckland has suffered the greatest degree of underbuilding relative to population growth in recent years, particularly since the 2008-09 recession, and the pickup in consented work is a necessary response to demand pressures and rising house prices."
ASB senior economist Jane Turner said that over 2013, the Reserve Bank would have to balance continued house price inflation pressures and a pick-up in credit demand, against an elevated New Zealand dollar, a gradual economic recovery, and very subdued inflation pressures.
"The RBNZ will be encouraged to see continued improvement in consent issuance as this indicates housing market pressures may start to ease through supply-side catch up, reducing the need for OCR increases to dampen demand. Reflecting subdued inflation pressures and the elevated NZD, we expect the RBNZ will continue to leave OCR unchanged at 2.5% until March 2014," she said.
Statistics NZ's Cardno said that all of the growth in consents during January 2013, compared with 12 months ago, was from the North Island, with increases in Auckland, Wellington, and Bay of Plenty regions.
Nationwide, dwelling consent numbers for January 2013, compared with January 2012, were: 1,312 new houses, including apartments (up 19 percent) and 1,254 new houses, excluding apartments (up 39 percent). There were 58 new apartments (down 140 from 198).
Together, the Auckland and Canterbury regions continued to contribute over half of all new housing consents, as they have done almost every month since January 2012.
The regions with the largest number of new houses consented in January 2013 were: Auckland – 372, up 140 from January 2012 and Canterbury – 378, down 1.
These 750 dwellings made up 57% of the 1,312 national total. The Auckland region had the largest increase in new dwellings consented in January 2013, up 140 (60%) from just 232 in January 2012. The main contributors to this increase, were from the former Auckland city, up 42 from January 2012, to 83, Rodney district, up 29 to 100, Papakura district, up 28 to 51, Waitakere city, up 21 to 52.
The biggest contributors of new dwellings in the Canterbury region were: Christchurch city, down 57 from January 2012, to 152, Waimakariri district, up 36 to 103, Selwyn district, up 9 to 58 and Ashburton district, up 9 to 20.
Earthquake-related building consents in Canterbury totaled NZ$60 million in January 2013, boosted by NZ$18 million for the construction of the Ferrymead Bridge.
The value of all residential building consents for January was NZ$517 million, 34 percent higher than in January 2012. This included a NZ$39 million (58 percent) increase in the value of dwelling alterations and additions.
6 Comments
um....er...prolly easier if you start here xingmowing
Let's not confuse Rilly New construction (Auckland, sorely needed after a decade of Local Gumnut Building Prevention Processes), with the other sort in Christchurch.
Bringing conditions house-wise, back to What they were before Gaia had her Little Hiccup, does not add to national wealth.
And both the process of Destruction (smashing the red-Zone houses, took a Guided tiour through the BRRP Recovery machine line last night, reminded me of those happy days, I spent breaking rocks in the Metal Quarries of Yore, another story), and the process of Rebuilding, both add to GDP but not one red cent to Total Assets compared to the Day Before.
There will be a nett loss of total assets in Christchurch, as firms have found that (quelle surprise) they can do More, with Less space etc.
It's often said that with even modest efforts at Conservation (energy, processes, footprint etc) we can save 10-15%.
So the Chch earthquake sequence has, in effect, enforced that effort, and everyone has found, to their happy surprise, that life goes on. No-one has starved, frozen to death, or been killed by their fellow human's trampling Rush to the Few Remaining Goodies.
Why, there's a Lesson fer Auckland in this, somewheres....
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