The latest residential building consent figures show demand for new housing continuing to strengthen.
The trend for new home consents is at its highest level since December 2007, and is 85% higher than the most recent low point in March 2011. Statistics New Zealand figures showed 1768 new dwelling and apartment (66) consents issued in February 2014.
RMBA chief executive Warwick Quinn says the overall trend is strong but continues to be dominated Canterbury and Auckland. The two regions issued 994 consents between them in February, representing more than 56% of all consents nationally.
“A couple of years ago we predicted a tale of two cities, and this is now well and truly entrenched,” Mr Quinn says. “In 2013, Canterbury and Auckland’s share of the residential build was 57% and the trend for the first two months of 2014 is the same.
“However, the Canterbury region continues to grow at a faster pace, and now makes up 77% of all residential activity in the South Island and 31% of residential construction nationally.”
