Over 15,000 new homes intended for Auckland

The number of new homes consented in Auckland reached a new high of 15,154 in the December 2019 year, Stats NZ said today.

“Auckland consented over 15,000 new homes for the first time in 2019, significantly higher than the previous peak of about 13,000 consented in the mid-1970s,” construction statistics manager Melissa McKenzie said.

“Auckland’s population doubled over this time and is now about 1.6 million.”

Apartments, retirement village units, townhouses, and other multi-unit home numbers drove new home growth in Auckland in 2019, rising 29 percent in the December year, while the number of new stand-alone houses rose 6.8 percent. More than half of the new homes consented in Auckland in 2019 were multi-unit homes.

“Auckland consented almost three-quarters of New Zealand’s apartments, and about half the country’s townhouses, flats, and units in 2019,” Ms McKenzie said.

Waikato, Wellington, and Otago regions had the highest annual number of new homes consented for each of these regions since the series began in 1991.

Nationally, 37,538 new homes were consented in the December 2019 year, the highest annual number since 1974. The overall record for new homes consented is still 40,025 in the February 1974 year, when the population of New Zealand was around 3 million, compared with about 4.9 million today.

Multi-unit homes continue to drive monthly volatility

After adjusting for seasonal effects, the number of new homes consented rose 9.9 percent in December 2019 compared with November, when it fell 8.4 percent.

The number of homes consented each month can vary significantly due to the timing of large multi-home projects, such as townhouses and apartment buildings. We recommend focusing on annual results when looking at changes over time.