According to Stats NZ, December 2021 concludes a record breaking year for new home consents.

In the year to December, multi-unit homes increased 36% to 23,335 and represented 48% of all new residential consents in 2021. In comparison,stand-alone houses rose 15% to 25,564, compared with 2020 consents.

For the first time in consent history, new multi unit consents surpassed detached dwellings with 1,823 stand-alone houses compared to 2,050 townhouses, apartments, flats and units in the month of December.*

Looking more closely at the date, two key trends to watch are:

• The average floor area of all new homes consented in 2021 was 154 square metres, down from 200 square metres at its peak in 2010
• The average value per square metre of all new homes consented in 2021 rose 5.8% from 2020.

Looking at commercial work, the value of non-residential building consents was $8.2 billion, led by strong demand for schools, factories, and storage buildings (up 152%).

For a full summary of December's building consents please read the release from Stats NZ.

*Multi-unit homes include townhouses, flats, and units; apartments; and retirement village units.

Image: Stats NZ

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