New home approvals point to record New Zealand building activity

The number of new homes consented over 2016 was up 10 percent year on year although the number fell at the end of the year, Statistics New Zealand said Thursday.

The total number of homes consented in the year was 29,970 and the most for a calendar year since 2004.

Approvals to build new homes in New Zealand tailed off at the end of last year as the rebuild of the earthquake-battered Canterbury region wound down.

The number of new homes consented fell 7 percent in December from November and the trend for consented homes fell 12 percent in the last five months of 2016, mainly driven by Canterbury.

"Residential consents continued to decline in Canterbury last year, but there was strong growth in most other regions, especially Auckland and nearby regions," business indicators senior manager Neil Kelly said in a statement.

Auckland, which is home to a third of the population and the center of the country's housing crisis, saw consents up 7 percent over the year to 9,930, while Canterbury, which was hit by major quakes in 2010 and 2011, saw consents down 9 percent to 5,903.

Building and Construction Minister Nick Smith said the figures showed building activity was at a record high, topping 19 billion NZ dollars (13.69 billion U.S. dollars) for 2016 after five straight years of strong growth.

"This is the longest and strongest growth phase in building activity in New Zealand history. It involves record levels of investment in homes, commercial buildings and infrastructure," Smith said. Endit