South Island leads 28% jump in building consents in June 2012 from year ago; Canterbury up off last year's low, Stats NZ says; But trend slows in recent months

A near 30% jump in nationwide building consents issues for dwellings in June 2012 from the same month last year was led by the South Island, Statistics New Zealand says.

In the South Island, the increase in the number of consents was concentrated in Canterbury, although the majority of consents in the region were outside Christchurch City.

There were 1,277 building consents for dwellings, including apartments, issued in the June 2012, up 28% from June 2011. Excluding the volatile apartment category, there were 1,159 consents issued, up 24% from a year ago. Of the 118 apartments consented, 47 were for retirement village units, Stats NZ said.

However, despite the large annual jump, the monthly trend in the number of new dwellings consented nationwide had slowed recently, Stats NZ said. After seasonal fluctuations were removed, the number of approved new dwellings, including apartments, increased 5.7% in June 2012 compared with May 2012. Excluding apartments, there was a smaller increase of 2.1%.

"These increases follow decreases in both April and May, and are consistent with the volatile nature of the series," Stats NZ said.

"The trend for the number of new dwellings, including apartments, shows signs of flattening. It has risen 31 percent since April 2011, which was the lowest point in its 30-year history. The trend for the number of new dwellings, excluding apartments, increased slightly in June 2012, but the rate of increase has slowed," it said.

South Island leads the way

The 28% national increase in new dwelling consent numbers for the June 2012 month, compared with June 2011, was virtually all in the South Island and Wellington, Stats NZ said.

"The number of new dwellings consented in the South Island increased by 241 (83 percent) and by just 41 (6 percent) in the North Island. Six of the nine regions in the North Island reported falls in June 2012. In the South Island, the West Coast and Southland were the only regions reporting a lower number of new dwellings consented in June 2012 than in June 2011," Stats NZ said.

"Within the South Island, the increase in the number of new dwelling consents was concentrated in Canterbury, up 163 (123 percent), and Otago, up 60 (94 percent). Canterbury had recorded only 133 new dwelling consents in June 2011, the lowest June month since the series began in 1991. The majority of dwelling consents in Canterbury region continued to be outside Christchurch city," it said.

The number of new dwellings was notable for:

• Christchurch city, up 48 to 93
• Waimakariri district, up 43 to 70
• Selwyn district, up 41 to 73
• Ashburton district, up 23 to 31.

"This is the highest number of new dwellings consented for Selwyn since September 2007," Stats NZ said.

"In Otago, 51 of the 60 extra dwelling consents were in Dunedin city, including 25 units in a retirement village. In Wellington region, Wellington city contributed 78 of the 83 increase, and 71 of these were apartments," it said.

Earthquake-related consents

Canterbury consents identified as being earthquake-related totalled NZ$45 million in June 2012, the third-highest monthly total since the Canterbury earthquakes began in September 2010, Stats NZ said. This result compared with:

• NZ$47 million in May 2012
• NZ$28 million in April 2012
• NZ$28 million in March 2012
• NZ$41 million in February 2012.

"Of the NZ$45 million recorded for June, NZ$26 million was for non-residential buildings, and NZ$19 million was for residential buildings (including 27 new dwellings)," Stats NZ said.

"Since 4 September 2010, there have been more than 2,200 Canterbury earthquake-related consents identified, totalling NZ$473 million. This includes 362 new dwellings, of which 149 were relocatable units. Also included are alterations and additions for residential buildings, non-residential buildings, and non-building construction," it said.