The number of new dwelling consents issued declined by 11.4% in August compared with July, driven mainly by declines in Auckland and Christchurch.
However on an annual basis the number of new homes being consented is still rising, with consents issued in the year to August up 19% on the previous year.
Consents were issued for 2,022 new dwelling in August, compared with 2,282 in July and 2,002 in June, according to Statistics NZ.
In the year to August 23,979 new dwelling consents were issued, compared with 19,444 for the year to August 2013 and 15,726 for the year to August 2012.
Statistics NZ said the trend for new dwellings had more than doubled since it hit its series low in March 2011, but the rate of growth was slowing.
The total value of new dwellings consented in August was $620 million, compared with $723 million in July.
The biggest falls were in Auckland and Canterbury, with consents in the Auckland region dropping to 656 in August compared with 849 in July.
In Canterbury consents were issued for 540 new dwellings in August, the lowest monthly total since February and well down on the 609 issued in July.
In Wellington the number of consents was almost unchanged, with 118 issued in August compared with 119 in July.
Within the Auckland region the biggest falls were on the North Shore, where 113 new dwelling consents were issued in August compared with 242 in July and in Manukau where they dropped to 156 in August compared with 202 in July.
The value of consents for residential structural alteration work also slipped to $112 million in August from $132 million in July.
Click on the interactive chart below to see the month by month figures for all regions.
Building consents - residential
Select chart tabs
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our new free Property email newsletter brings you all the stories about residential and commercial property and the forces that move these huge markets. Sign up here.
To subscribe to our Property newsletter, enter your email address here. It's free.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7 Comments
Maybe, cost is a constraint.
From ANZ in my mailbox;
Residential construction cost inflation remained elevated at a 7.7% annual rate in the three months to August. Whilst monthly figures are volatile it suggests that inflationary pressures from this sector are not abating. The key for OCR settings is that these pressures do not become more generalised.
Hardly unlikely given the NZDUSD ccy pair exhibits falling knife characteristics and is being cheered downward by all concerned in a position of authority.
And GST is a further dampener.
New build in our street recently sold for $600K with a RV of $665K. Assuming the RV was based around actual cost to (first) remove the existing old house, (then) subdivide the 800m2 section, (and finally) build the single level rear-yard dwelling - GST made up around $80K of the transaction costs for what is essentially a posh granny flat.
We welcome your comments below. If you are not already registered, please register to comment.
Remember we welcome robust, respectful and insightful debate. We don't welcome abusive or defamatory comments and will de-register those repeatedly making such comments. Our current comment policy is here.