25 November 2019

Manawatū District economy continues to lead the region going from strength to strength and exceeding the national growth rate.

The economy grew by 3.1 per cent to the year ended September. This is the highest growth rate in the Manawatū-Whanganui region and exceeds the national growth rate of 2.4 per cent.

The Manawatū-Whanganui region includes Manawatū District Council, Whanganui District Council, Palmerston North City Council, Rangitikei District Council, Tararua Dictrict Council, Horowhenua District Council, and Ruapehu District Council.

This strong economic performance is driven by population growth, favourable trade conditions, high employment, house price growth, robust consumer and tourism spending and high levels of investment flowing into the district.

Manawatū District Council’s economist Stacey Bell, says that construction was one of the stand-outs in this growth with the overall value of construction investment increasing by 50.2 per cent to the year ended September 2019, from the previous year.

The District is being recognised as a great place to live and housing demand is high. This is reflected in particularly strong levels of residential investment.

“To put this in perspective, the total value of residential consents in the District increased by 34.3 per cent from the previous year, while the number of new dwellings increased by 35.6 per cent over the same period. In total, 221 new homes were consented in the district over the year to September.”

Commercial investment also contributed significantly to the strength of the economy with investment increasing from $7.2m in 2018 to a total of $23m.

“Upgrades at Ohakea Air Force Base accounted for $9m of this total, and there is also investment underway within the industrial area of Feilding township. Commercial investment consents in the Feilding industrial area were valued at over seven million dollars over the year to September 2019.”

“Commercial investment is particularly encouraging as it reflects the confidence of business in the future of the local economy and the attractiveness of the Manawatū District as a place to set-up and do business, providing jobs and boosting economic activity in our district.”

With strong commodity prices for goods produced in the Manawatū District alongside unprecedented levels of investment and strong population and employment growth, there are no signs of the district economy slowing down anytime soon.

ENDS

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