The trend for the number of new homes has been falling since its peak in early 2022
More than 42,000 homes were consented in New Zealand in the year to August, down 17% compared to the same period in 2022, according to new figures released by Stats NZ.
Anna Howe, construction and property statistics manager at Stats NZ, said the 42,110 home consents in the year to August continued the downward trend from the peak of 51,015 in the year ended May 2022, but was still at a higher level than any 12-month period prior to 2021.
In the year ended August, 17,267 stand-alone houses were consented, 25% lower than that of the year ended August 2022; while 24,843 multi-unit homes were consented, down 10% over the same period.
Of the 24,843 multi-unit homes consented in the year ended August, 18,158 were townhouses, flats, and units (down 12% vs the year ended August 2022), 3,801 were apartments (down 7.2%), and 2,884 were retirement village units (up 2.4%).
Home consents down in most regions
All regions except Marlborough consented fewer new homes in the year to August compared to the prior year.
Auckland recorded the highest number of new homes consented in the year ended August, with 18,003, which was down 16% compared with the year ended August 2022. This was followed by Canterbury with 7,406 (down 15%), Waikato with 3,981 (down 22%), and Wellington with 3,267 (down 16%)
Fewer homes consented in August
In the month of August, 3,170 new homes were consented, down 30% compared with the same period last year.
“Fewer new homes were consented in each month of 2023 so far, compared with the same month of both 2022 and 2021,” Howe said. “It is now almost a year since the number of new homes consented in a month exceeded the number consented in the same month of the previous year. The last time this occurred was in September 2022.”
Of the new homes consented in August, 1,927 were multi-unit homes (down 26% than in August 2022) and 1,243 were stand-alone houses (down 35%).
Stats NZ said the number of new homes consented each month can vary significantly due to the timing of large multi-dwelling projects, such as townhouses and apartment buildings.
The number of new homes consented in August dropped 6.7% month-on-month in seasonally adjusted terms, following a seasonally adjusted fall of 5.4% in July.
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