Building consents in February were flat compared with a year ago, the numbers of townhouses, flats and units picking up the slack created by a small decline in the number of stand-alone houses.
In February last year there were 2418 consents, valued at $912 million, across the country, while in February this year there were 2412 consents, valued at $963 million.
Otago’s share for the same period was 181 consents valued at $80 million and a decline last February to 149, worth $59 million.
There were 638 consents in the South Island in February last year, compared with 647 in February this year.
ASB senior economist Jane Turner said the trend nationwide was that residential issuance had "flat-lined", as construction industry capacity constraint bit.
"Residential consent issuance is trending sideways on a nationwide basis," she said.
Statistics New Zealand construction statistics manager Melissa McKenzie said building consents for new townhouses, flats and units hit a 23-year high and apartments rose significantly in the year to February this year.
However, consents for stand-alone houses were down slightly.
"Growth in the last 12 months has been driven by multi-unit dwellings, such as apartments and townhouses," Ms McKenzie said.
Apartment numbers rose 29% to 3166 in the year to February this year, compared with the previous period, 5077 townhouses, flats and units being consented, which was up 12% on the previous period.
In contrast, new stand-alone house numbers were down 1.3% at 21,052 in the latest year, although they still accounted for two-thirds of all new homes, she said.
ASB’s Mrs Turner said it was likely uncertainty around the Government’s KiwiBuild policy was temporarily weighing on housing construction demand, so consent numbers may recover in coming months once more policy details become known.
