NZ: Dwelling consents issuance rocketed higher in May – Westpac

Satish Ranchhod, senior economist at Westpac, points out that New Zealand’s residential dwelling consent issuance rocketed higher in May, rising by 13% supporting their forecast for another step higher in construction levels over 2019.

Key Quotes

“May’s increase follows strong issuance in recent months, and leaves annual consent numbers at a 45-year high.”

“Looking across the regions, we’re continuing to see strong levels of issuance in Auckland, where nearly 13,900 new dwellings were consented over the past year.  We’re also seeing strong issuance levels in the Waikato, Whanganui-Manawatu, Wellington and Otago. We’ve also seen issuance in Canterbury holding at firm levels.”

“At the same time, it looks like the home building cycle is easing off in areas like Northland and the Bay of Plenty.”

“We expect that building activity will take another leg higher over 2019, with strength in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects. Today’s result supports that view.”