The national construction sector finished 2014 on a seven-year high, with residential building consents up 16% on the back of apartments built.
In the midst of what is being described as an ongoing housing crisis, 2014 booked the highest annual number of new dwellings seen in seven years, at 24,680. Value was up 20% to $9.5 billion.
However, the data was underpinned by apartment sales, which when stripped out left just a 1.6% gain to overall new dwelling consents issued.
Combined with commercial consents, the total value was $14.6 billion for the year.
The new dwelling data includes houses, apartments and retirement village units, the latter exploding at an exponential rate with rapid expansion by Summerset, Ryman Healthcare and Metlifecare.
Unsurprisingly, and reflecting the past year's Real Estate Institute of New Zealand data on major demand and growth in Auckland and Canterbury, those centres respectively booked gains in dwellings of 20%, to 7595, and 27% to 7308.
Auckland and Canterbury accounted for 60% of new dwellings during the year.
Otago, for December 2013, had 88 consents valued at $36 million, and for last December 92 consents were issued, valued at $30 million.
For the December of both years, Central Otago had 17 consents issued, while Queenstown Lakes had 39.
However, for 2014, Central Otago had 180 building consents issued, while Queenstown Lakes had 623.
ASB senior economist Jane Turner said that, excluding apartments, dwelling consents ''eked out a 1.6% increase'' nationally.
''The lift in ex-apartment consents is a bit subdued relative to our expectations for further housing construction growth,'' she said in a statement.
Dwelling consents had edged lower in December, due to a decline in apartment consents.
''Nonetheless, the level of apartment consents was still relatively high in December, adding to a strong number of apartment consents issued in November,'' she said.
She said the election appeared to have disrupted house building demand and as a result apartment plans might have been deferred until this uncertainty had passed, contributing to strong apartment consent issuance during November and December.
Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon said dwelling consents had ''more or less'' resumed the strong upward trend of recent years, having slowed substantially before the September election.
''The volatile apartment units category had another very strong month, with 466 units consented in December compared to 474 in November - both months were about double the average of the last two years.
''Post-quake reconstruction in Canterbury and the previously undersupplied Auckland market remain the key sources of growth,'' Mr Gordon said.
By the numbers
Year on year
2014 v 2013
New dwellings: 24,680, up 20%
Auckland: 7595, up 20%
Canterbury: 7308, up 27%
Waikato: 2369, up 5.5%
Consented building work
Total: $14.6b, up 21%
Residential: $9.5b, up 20%
Non-residential: $5.1b, up 21%TextBox2
Non-residential consents
Otago had largest percentage change, but by value was overshadowed.
Otago: up 49%, by $72m to $219m
Canterbury: up 42%, by $444m to $1.5b
Wellington: up 37%, by $127m to $474m
Auckland: up 11%, by $148m to $1.5b
New non-residential floor space could cover 377 rugby fields.
Source: Statistics New Zealand
