1,708 dwellings were consented by Auckland Council in May – the highest level for the month of May on record.

It brings the number of dwelling consents issued in the last 12 months to 18,565 – up 28 per cent in the last year.

Mayor Phil Goff says the big growth in consents is good news for the city that will help boost housing supply and reduce unaffordability.

“Nine years ago, we were issuing only about 3600 consents a year and for years after, house building lagged far behind the rate of population growth,” he says.

“Thanks to rezoning through the Unitary Plan and record investment by council in development-enabling infrastructure, we’re now consenting more houses in 12 months than were consented in all of New Zealand—including Auckland—in 2011.

“Importantly, we are continuing to see the greatest level of growth in consents to be for higher density developments, with multi-unit dwellings making up nearly 60 per cent of all dwellings consented in May, and a total of 8,429 townhouses consented in the last year.

“All this demonstrates the effectiveness of the Unitary Plan to encourage the creation of a more compact, quality urban form, with housing intensification replacing sprawl. We are building up—not just out—which offers more housing choices for Aucklanders.

“While Auckland still faces a significant housing challenge, the progress we’re making is helping to eat into Auckland’s housing shortfall.”

Regulatory Committee Chair, Councillor Linda Cooper, agrees: “Sustained increases in the rate of consenting over the last several years is helping to improve the supply of housing in Auckland, which is crucial to the wellbeing of our communities.”

“While there is still much more work to be done to address affordability and meet housing demand, we are making real progress.”

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