NZ home consents hit record in the year ended March 2021
Stats NZ has revealed a record 41,028 new homes consented in the year ended March 2021 – and not all regions can cater to the skyrocketing demand, with Canterbury councils already taking on more staff to help with the consenting process.
According to Stats NZ, the previous record for the annual number of new homes consented was 40,025 in the year ended February 1974. Within 10 years, the number of new homes consented annually has soared from the lowest point since the 1940s to a record.
Stats NZ construction statistics manager Michael Heslop commented: “The nature of homes has changed over time, including a shift towards building bigger houses in recent decades.
“The increased number of new homes consented in recent years has mostly been due to a rise in consents for higher density homes, such as townhouses. The number of stand-alone houses consented in this period has been relatively flat.”
With the sudden surge in the number of new home consents, the Selwyn and Ashburton district councils have hired more staff to help aid the consenting process – with the effects already felt by builders in the region, forced to put jobs on hold.
In March, the Ashburton district issued 17 new build consents, valued at more than $7.1 million. With the rising number of consents, the Ashburton District Council confirmed it will take on two new building officials later this month, according to Stuff.
Ashburton builder Sam Millar revealed that waiting times for project green lighting have doubled.
“Six months ago, it was about 20 working days, and now it's closer to 40 working days,” he said, as reported by Stuff. “The amount of work being consented now means inspectors are going to be busy three or four months from now. We've been told it's going to be a problem at the other end.”
Jane Donaldson, the strategy and compliance group manager at Ashburton District Council, added: “There has certainly been greater interest in development than we have seen in the recent past.”
Meanwhile, a record number of applications continued to overwhelm the Selwyn district, forcing its council to hire three new consent staff.
A Selwyn District Council spokesperson confirmed that the council received 372 building consent applications in March, followed by another 264 in April.
“This huge number of consents, along with a national shortage of building consent officers, has created a backlog for the council in processing consents,” the spokesperson said, as reported by Stuff. “Demand for inspections is also exceeding the number of inspectors currently available.”
The council aims to launch a professional partnership program with industry professionals to help expedite the consenting process in the region.
“Professionals, such as designers, builders, developers, or building companies, will be able to apply to become council's partners if they meet the criteria,” the spokesperson said.
“Once they join the programme, they will be able to have their consents fast-tracked as long as they meet and continue to meet certain criteria.”
