Numbers show steady trend, expert says
The number of new homes consented in New Zealand increased by 4.8% in November compared to the same period last year, according to a report by Stats NZ.
The report stated that there were 3,100 new homes consented with 1,402 of them being stand-alone houses, which was a 4.1% decrease year-over-year, and 1,698 being multi-unit homes, marking a 14% increase.
Michael Heslop, an economic indicators spokesperson, said the numbers showed the steady trend that persisted in the previous year.
“While the number of homes consented each month has fluctuated, the trend has remained relatively steady for the last year,” Heslop said.
Compared to the previous month, November 2024 saw a 5.3% rise in the number of new homes consented should the seasonal effects be excluded. This followed a 5.2% seasonally adjusted decrease in October 2024. When it comes to new stand-alone houses consented, the seasonally adjusted number dropped by 0.7% in November, following a 6.3% decrease seen in the previous month.
With 33,609 new homes consented in the year ending November 2024, the number was a 12% decrease year-over-year. Heslop pointed out that the annual number of consented homes stayed around the 33,600 mark for the last six months of the year.
“This is down from the peak of 51,015 in the year ended May 2022,” said Heslop.
In the year ending November 2024, there were also 15,823 stand-alone houses consented, which was a 0.8% decrease from the same period in the previous year. Meanwhile, 17,786 multi-unit homes consented were also recorded, marking a 20% decline compared to the same time last year.
With multi-unit homes including townhouses, apartments, retirement village units, and flats, the number of multi-unit homes consented in the year ending November 2024 had 14,271 townhouses, flats, and units, 1,733 retirement village units, and 1,782 apartments.
