New dwelling consent and household growth : Greater Christchurch

Why it's important

Dwelling consent and household growth tell us about the rate of residential building activity and is an indicator of economic activity.

Key points

In the year to September 2020, there were 4,758 new dwelling consents issued across Greater Christchurch. For Christchurch in the same period, there were 2,773 consents (58%), 1,400 (29%) in Selwyn and 585 (12%) in Waimakariri.
The number of households across Greater Christchurch increased by 4,703 in the year to June 2020. For Christchurch that was an increase of 2,800 households (60%), with 1,172 in Selwyn (25%) and 731 in Waimakariri (16%).

Note this is an interactive chart and you can select the legend items to change what is shown on the graph.

Commentary

The loss of 5,600 households from Christchurch was due to the Canterbury earthquakes. Conversely, both Selwyn (655) and Waimakariri (692) experienced an increase in household numbers during the period.

In more recent years the data would suggest that the number of new dwelling consents being issued is much more closely matched to the annual increase in the number of households across the three territorial authorities.

Data notes

This indicator approximates the demand for, and supply of, new dwellings. It measures changes in demand and how responsive supply is.

The number of new dwelling building consents is lagged by six months (presented as a 12-month rolling average), to account for the time taken from consenting to completion. It is not adjusted for non-completions or for demolitions. It is used as a proxy for supply.

The most recent resident population, divided by the local average housing size, is used as a proxy for demand. Both sets of data are sourced from Stats NZ.

Data information and downloads

Data source	Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Urban Development Capacity Dashboard
Data access	The Dashboard is available online(external link), as are the data tables(external link) for download
Date updated	The dwelling consent dataset is updated quarterly by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, with monthly figures (latest to November 2020). The household change indicator is updated annually for the June year (latest to June 2020).
Data download	Download the tables [XLSX, 26 KB]
Page updated	June 2021

Data breakdowns available

Geographic area	The three Territorial Authorities combined and separate - Christchurch City Council, Waimakariri District Council, Selwyn District Council
Other variables	Territorial Authority level - Christchurch City Council, Waimakariri District Council, Selwyn District Council

Links to other information and reports

Ministry of Housing and Urban Development Urban Development Capacity Dashboard(external link)

Other areas: Environment indicators, Community indicators, Economic indicators