Lockdown might affect building consent statistics in the coming months
Housing consents have hit another 45-year high since the mid-1970s, according to Statistics New Zealand’s latest data.
Stats NZ revealed a total of 37,882 new homes consented for the year ending February 2020 – up 3,620 (11%) from the same period in 2019. Auckland took the spotlight with 14,854 new dwellings consented in the February 2020 year, up 1,000 from than previous February year.
“The number of new homes consented in the February 2020 year is the highest in about 45 years, boosted by more new homes for Auckland,” Melissa McKenzie, construction statistics manager at Stats NZ, said.
Read more: Housing consents hit 45-year high
Non-residential building consents totalled $7.3 billion in the year ending February 2020, a 2.3% increase from the previous February year. Education buildings, as well as shops, restaurants, and bars, took the top spot with $1.0 billion – followed by offices, administration, and public transport buildings at $974 million.
McKenzie clarified that the lockdown did not affect the latest statistics as it occurred after the period covered by the report. The first impacts of the pandemic and lockdown would instead be seen in the March 2020 results, which will be released on May 05, 2020.
“Building consent statistics may be affected in the coming months by the current lockdown because of COVID-19. However, any delay to or cancellation of already consented building plans would be seen in the quarterly value of building work put in place, not in monthly consent statistics,” McKenzie explained.
