Key points:
- New figures confirm a continued slowdown in construction of new housing
- Construction Minister Chris Penk said the numbers reinforced that it was “too hard and too expensive to build”
- Labour’s Kieran McAnulty says the Government has scaled back community housing initiatives and made it difficult for councils to fund infrastructure.
The number of new homes consented in New Zealand fell 22% in the 12 months to July, according to Stats NZ.
New figures released today indicated an ongoing slowdown in the construction sector. There was an increase in the numbers on a short-term basis as compared to the month before, however, the annual trend remains significantly down.
Stats NZ construction and property statistics manager Michael Heslop said there were 18,503 multi-unit homes consented, down 28% compared with the year ended July 2023.
There were 15,418 stand-alone houses consented, down 14%.
In July there were 3352 new dwellings consented — consisting of 1685 stand-alone houses, 1333 townhouses, flats, and units, 234 retirement village units, and 100 apartments.
“A higher number of working days contributed to the increase in homes consented in July 2024 when compared with July 2023,” Heslop said.
“A large project in the Queenstown-Lakes district contributed to a sharp rise in stand-alone houses consented in July 2024.”
The rate of new homes consented could vary significantly due to the timing of large projects.
Political reaction
Construction Minister Chris Penk said the numbers reinforced that it was “too hard and too expensive to build” and that New Zealand needed to be more “ambitious”.
“The Government has a bold programme of reforms to cut red tape and lower building costs. We are committed to turning things around so that we can get more Kiwis into affordable, quality homes,” he said in a statement.
“The data tells a worrying story about the state of the sector our Government inherited.
“The long-term data is sobering, with only 6.4 dwellings consented per 1000 residents, which is less than half the number of dwellings consented in 1973.”
Reacting to the data, Labour Party housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty criticised the Government over halted social housing projects.
“Scaling back or stopping Kāinga Ora builds and stripping funding for Community Housing Providers, making it harder for councils to fund infrastructure projects have both put a significant damper on the sector, and we are seeing this play out in this consenting data,” he said in a media release.