July housing consent numbers steady

There were 2,160 new housing units authorised in July 2007 compared with 2,145 in July 2006, Statistics New Zealand said today. The trend for the number of new housing units (including apartments) has been increasing since January 2007.

Excluding apartments, there were 1,975 new housing units authorised in July 2007, compared with 1,888 in July 2006.

Nine of the 16 regions authorised more new housing units in July 2007 than in July 2006, with the largest increases occurring in Waikato, Wellington and Nelson. The largest decreases were in Auckland and Bay of Plenty. The North Island authorised 74 fewer new housing units in July 2007, while the South Island authorised 91 more units, compared with July 2006.

The value of consents issued for all residential buildings was $679 million, 11 percent higher than in July 2006. The trend for the value of all residential buildings has been increasing for the past seven months.

The value of consents issued for non-residential buildings was $353 million, 25 percent higher than in July 2006. Social, cultural and religious buildings showed the largest increase, followed by shops, restaurants and taverns.

Building Consents Issued: July 2005 (pdf)