Mayor says figures reflect “encouraging progress in addressing housing supply issues”
Auckland saw a record number of dwellings consented over the past year, which the city’s mayor said reflects “encouraging progress in addressing housing supply issues.”
According to figures from Auckland Council, the city consented 1,734 new dwellings in September 2020, taking the annual total to 15,470 – the “highest number of new dwellings consented in Auckland in a year since records began in the early 1990s,” said Phil Goff, mayor of Auckland.
“To put it another way, we consented more homes in the past year than we did in the four years of 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 combined,” said Goff. “In the three months to September 2020, Auckland—which is 34% of the national population—accounted for 46% of new dwellings consented in New Zealand. Over the same period, Auckland also accounted for all the growth in consenting activity in New Zealand.”
Read more: Residential building consents on the rise
Additionally, the value of the buildings consented in Auckland exceeded $1 billion for the first time in September, with more than $700 million coming from residential projects.
“This means that Auckland accounted for 44% of the national total value of buildings consented in September and 41% of the total number of dwellings consented in New Zealand,” said Goff. “These figures demonstrate the resilience of the Auckland housing market, as well as how important the region is to the national economy as we recover from the COVID-19 recession.”
“Auckland still faces a significant housing challenge, with global uncertainty, low interest rates and the removal of loan-to-value ratio restrictions continuing to push up house prices. However, the fact that we are consenting dwellings at the highest volume in almost three decades shows that we are making strong progress to increase supply and address Auckland’s housing challenges.”
