Nature of homes has changed over time, says report
The number of new homes consented in New Zealand in the year ended March 2021 hit a record 41,028, according to Statistics New Zealand’s (Stats NZ) latest data.
According to the report, the previous record for the annual number of new homes consented in New Zealand was 40,025 in the year ended February 1974.
Within 10 years, the number of new homes consented annually has increased from the lowest point since the 1940s to an all-time high.
However, after accounting for population size, the number of new homes consented in the year ended March 2021 is still below the peak in the 1970s, although it has been rising steadily from the lows seen around the time of the global financial crisis. Over eight new homes were consented per 1,000 residents in the year ended March 2021, which is less than the record of 13.4 seen in the year ended December 1973. Meanwhile, the number of new homes consented in March 2021 hit 4,128 – the highest for the series, surpassing the October 1973 figure of 4,081.
Stats NZ construction statistics manager Michael Heslop explained that a record-breaking month for standalone houses (2,438) and townhouses, flats, and units (1,243) had driven the new monthly record for new homes consented.
“The record numbers seen in March 2021 suggests that there is a large amount of residential work in the pipeline. The value of consents solely for new standalone houses topped $1 billion for the first time in a single month,” Heslop said.
On a monthly basis, the seasonally adjusted number of new homes consented in March 2021 increased by almost 18%, following a fall of around 19% in February 2021. The latest figure was the biggest seasonally adjusted monthly increase since May 2020, when numbers rose by nearly 40%.
The number of new homes consented each month can vary significantly due to the timing of large multi-home projects, such as apartment buildings. As a result, it may take several months for trends to become clear, according to Stats NZ.
Stats NZ’s report added that quarterly movements can be less volatile as they are less affected by the timing of large multi-home projects. The seasonally adjusted number of new homes consented in the March 2021 quarter increased by 1.2%, following a strong December 2020 quarter, up nearly 13%.
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Heslop said the nature of homes has changed over time, including building bigger houses in recent decades.
“The increased number of new homes consented in recent years has mostly been due to a rise in consents for higher density homes, such as townhouses. The number of standalone houses consented in this period has been relatively flat,” Heslop said.
Heslop’s comment reflects Stats NZ’s data in March 2021, showing that the median floor area of new homes – including standalone and multi-unit homes – has decreased in recent years due to the increasing number of medium-sized standalone homes in the last decade.
The data also revealed that the median floor area of all new homes consented in 2020 was 144 square metres, down from 148 square metres in 2019. The median floor area was 191 square metres at its peak in 2012.
From 2010 to 2020, the annual number of standalone houses consented (of all sizes) increased by over 9,000. During the global financial crisis, large houses (with a floor area between 200 and 300 square metres) accounted for a greater share of all houses consented and peaked at 41.5% in 2013 but dropped to 28.2% in 2020. Since then, the increasing proportion of medium-sized houses has become the biggest driver behind the high number of consents issued in the last decade.
