WELLINGTON, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The number of new homes consented in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, hit a 15-year high of 1,450 in November 2017, boosted by apartments, the country's statistics department Stats NZ said on Friday.
This rise in Auckland helped lift the national total of new homes consented to a 13-year high in November, Stats NZ said, adding that nationally, 3,262 new homes were consented in November.
"In November, Auckland home consents reached their second-highest level on record," construction statistics manager Melissa McKenzie said in a statement, adding this is beaten only by October 2002 when nearly 2,000 new homes were consented due to a much larger spike in apartments.
"November is typically the month with the highest number of new homes consented, as people try to get plans approved before Christmas," McKenzie said.
The number of new homes consented rose 11 percent in November, following a 10-percent fall in October, she said, adding that November's rebound in home consents was driven by apartments, which tend to fluctuate a lot and were particularly low in October.
"Looking at the longer-term picture, building consents for apartments and townhouses have seen double-digit growth year after year, while consents for stand-alone houses have levelled off," McKenzie said.
