Auckland building consents continue to surge

The latest figures released today by Statistics New Zealand showing the number of building consents in Auckland at an 11-year high have been welcomed by Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith, who says strong momentum is underway for Auckland’s new house build rate.

“There were 8935 consents issued for Auckland in the year to October – the highest in any year to October since 2004. The 805 consents issued for Auckland last month is an increase of 25 per cent on the previous month, and an increase of 36 per cent on October 2014. This data confirms that solid progress is being made in lifting the pace of Auckland’s residential construction,” Dr Smith says.

“Today’s figures are the latest in a recent series indicating the pace of Auckland’s new house build rate. The National Construction Pipeline Report has projected that an extra 80,000 new homes will be built in the six years to 2020, as compared to the 30,000 in the preceding six years. The Household Labour Force Survey shows the number of people employed in Auckland’s construction industry has increased from 45,000 to 75,000 over the past three years. 

“The Government is continuing to free up more land faster through the Auckland Housing Accord, together with the council. Last week Mayor Len Brown and I released the latest monitoring report which showed we are on target at the two-year mark of the Accord.

“We also have in place initiatives to constrain building materials costs, rein in development contributions, cut compliance costs and invest in improved sector productivity. Our new $435 million HomeStart support package, which came into effect 1 April, will help 90,000 people into home ownership over the next five years.

“We need to keep our foot on the accelerator to ensure we support this positive momentum. The next steps in the Government’s programme include advancing new housing on Crown-owned land in Auckland, supporting the Auckland Council in the completion of the new Auckland Unitary Plan, consulting on a new Urban Development National Policy Statement, and reform of the Resource Management Act to address the long-term issues affecting housing supply and affordability.”