Townhouses, flats and units see record numbers consented

A record number of townhouses, flats and units were consented in the year to January 2020, Statistics New Zealand reported today. Around 8400 new homes were consented, a 28 per cent increase over the January 2019 year. 

Apartment consents also saw significant growth at 24 per cent.

“Multi-unit homes are making up a greater portion of new homes consented, partly driven by intensification in Auckland. However, stand-alone houses still account for about 60 per cent of all new homes consented nationally,” Statistics New Zealand construction statistics manager Melissa McKenzie said.

Since 1992 when the statistics were first collected, townhouse, flat and unit numbers have more than doubled, while the population has only grown by around 1.4 million from 3.6 million.

The total number of homes — which includes retirement village units, apartments, townhouses, flats and units, and stand-alone houses — consented was just over 37,600, a 12 per cent gain from the previous year.

Regionally, consents grew the most in Wellington, with 3223 granted, a 17 per cent increase over the previous year. Despite not matching the record consents haul in the year to December 2019, Auckland still gained a significant number of consents, 14,976, a 13 per cent gain on the previous period.

The South Island sans Canterbury also saw a 17 per cent growth in consents, with 3911 granted. In the North Island outside Auckland, Wellington and Waikato, consents only grew by 2.4 per cent.

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