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Consent figures confirm record New Zealand building boom: minister

Xinhua, July 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

Consents for building new homes reached a 12-year high in the year to the end of June as New Zealand struggles to tackle a housing crisis, figures from the government statistics agency showed Friday.

More than 29,000 new homes gained building consent in the year to June, up 16 percent from the previous June year, according to Statistics New Zealand.

"The annual total of 29,097 is the highest for a June year since 2004, when it was more than 33,000," business indicators manager Clara Eatherley said in a statement.

Auckland -- home to a third of the population and the center of a chronic housing shortage -- and its surrounding regions were the main contributors to the growth, while consents in the earthquake-battered Canterbury region remained at an historically high level, although declining.

Auckland had 9,651 homes consented in the June year, up 16 percent on the 2015 year.

In the month of June, the number of new homes consented nationally rose 16 percent from May.

Residential and commercial building work had hit an all-time record of 18.3 billion NZ dollars (13.02 billion U.S. dollars), confirming New Zealand was in the midst of the largest building boom ever, Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith said in a statement.

"The contrast with 2004 is that construction grew then for three straight years whereas we are already in the fifth straight year of growth, and this is projected to continue for a further four. The second key difference is that we also have record levels of commercial activity occurring simultaneously, with total building activity 29 percent higher in real terms than in 2004," said Smith.

The rate of house build in Auckland was 10 per working day in 2008, but the latest figures equated to 46 per working day -- close to the required levels of between 50 and 60 needed to address Auckland's long-term housing shortage.

"This pace of growth in building activity does put pressure on the skills and resources in the construction sector," said Smith.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has repeatedly warned that the Auckland housing crisis and soaring home prices are a risk to the country's financial stability. Endit