Building investment hits record high   29 Apr 2016

Hon Dr Nick Smith

Minister for Building and Housing

29 April 2016
Building investment hits record high

Building is at a record high, with consents of $13.6 billion of residential and commercial work across New Zealand for the year to 31 March 2016, the largest investment ever in both nominal and real terms, new building consent data out today shows.

Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith says the data shows residential and commercial building overall residential investment at $9.3 billion, up from $8 billion the previous year, and commercial investment of $4.3 billion, up from $3.9 billion. The number of new homes nationwide for the year was 27,789 – the highest in more than a decade.

“I am particularly encouraged by the progress being achieved in Auckland, where housing issues are the most acute. New home construction is now at 9566 for the year to March 2016, compared to 7940 in 2015, and the low point of only 3579 five years ago.

“This is the longest and strongest sustained growth ever in home construction in the city’s history. The $3.4 billion investment in residential construction for the year to March 2016 is the highest ever in both real and nominal terms, and is up 30 per cent on the previous year. This shows the efforts of the government and Auckland Council to grow supply and increase investment in Auckland is working.

“I’m also encouraged by strong growth in building activity beyond Auckland and Christchurch. Residential activity is up 18 per cent and commercial building 20 per cent, which shows the building boom is now spreading into regions such as Bay of Plenty, Hamilton, Queenstown and even in lower growth areas like Rotorua, Palmerston North and Whanganui,” Dr Smith said.

“New Zealand is doing well, and that is increasing pressure on the housing market, with strong migration and New Zealanders coming home rather than leaving. This means we need to grow our investment in housing to manage the growth.

“This record level of investment is putting pressure on all parts of the housing supply chain, from land supply to consenting capacity in councils, from construction equipment to skilled tradespeople. The government is responding through measures such as the Housing Accords, Special Housing Areas, increasing competition in building materials, increased investment in apprenticeships and support for first home buyers with initiatives such as KiwiSaver HomeStart.

“The next steps in our programme on housing are a National Policy Statement on Urban Growth, completing with the Auckland Council the new Unitary Plan, advancing the reforms to the Resource Management Act and improvements to the regulatory environment for the building sector.”

http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1604/Building_Consents_Table.pdf

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