PHOTO: FILE
According to the latest data released by Stats NZ today, there were 37,239 new homes granted consent in the year concluding in December 2023, marking a 25 percent decline compared to the same period in 2022.
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Construction and property statistics manager Michael Heslop reported that the number of homes granted consent in 2023 was lower than the previous year, dropping from 49,538 in 2022, which had been the highest annual count since recordkeeping commenced.
The breakdown of home consents for the year ending in December 2023 reveals that 21,564 multi-unit homes were consented, reflecting a 23 percent decrease compared to the year ending in December 2022. Multi-unit homes encompass townhouses, apartments, retirement village units, and flats.
Specifically, within the multi-unit category for the year ending in December 2023:
- Townhouses, flats, and units numbered 16,779 (down 19 percent from 2022).
- Apartments totaled 2,518 (a decrease of 43 percent).
- Retirement village units amounted to 2,267 (a 23 percent decrease).
Heslop pointed out that the number of apartments granted consent in 2023 was the lowest since 2016 when 2,403 were approved.
In the same period, there were 15,675 stand-alone houses consented, indicating a 27 percent decrease compared to the year ending in December 2022. Notably, 2023 marked the first year where the number of townhouses, flats, and units consented surpassed stand-alone houses.
Both the North and South Islands experienced a decline in new home consents. In the North Island, there were 26,881 consents (down 26 percent), while the South Island recorded 10,357 consents (down 22 percent).
The regional breakdown for the year ending in December 2023 highlighted that, with the exception of Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay, all regions consented fewer new homes compared to the previous year. The top four regions with the highest consent numbers were Auckland, Canterbury, Waikato, and Wellington.
The data also revealed a decrease in the number of new homes consented per 1,000 residents in New Zealand, dropping from 9.7 in December 2022 to 7.2 in December 2023. Canterbury led the regions with the most homes consented per 1,000 residents at 10.4.
In the December 2023 quarter, 8,505 new homes were consented, marking a 27 percent decrease from the same quarter in 2022. In seasonally adjusted terms, the number of new homes in the December 2023 quarter fell 3.4 percent compared to the September 2023 quarter, following a 13 percent decline in the previous quarter.