New Zealand building consents fall slightly in July

Building consents for new homes in New Zealand dropped a bit in July, stated Statistics New Zealand. The seasonally adjusted figure of new homes consented dropped 0.7 percent in July after falling 1.3 percent in June 2017.

The decline in July was mainly because of the number of consented apartments, townhouses and retirement units that fluctuates from month to month. The decline in multi-unit dwellings was partially countered by a rise in stand-alone houses, which were up 8.5 percent, reversing a 4 percent drop in June.

The actual number of new homes consented in July dropped 1.7 percent year-on-year to 2,762. This comprises of 1,900 houses, 367 apartments, 350 townhouses, flats and units and 145 retirement village units.

Region wise, Auckland saw the largest fall in the month, with 313 fewer new homes consented, down 29 percent year-on-year. The drop was mainly due to falls in the volatile apartment and townhouses categories. Auckland’s numbers are quite volatile because nearly half the homes consented are in multi-unit projects.

According to Statistics New Zealand, in the year ended July 2017, 30,404 new homes were consented throughout New Zealand, including 10,051 in Auckland.

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