Despite the high percentage of homes being built in New Zealand, the shortage is still not being met. According a recent report by propertywire.com, "Planning permission for new homes in New Zealand in the first half of 2015 was higher than any previous year, new data shows, but not enough to match current shortfall."
This data shows the growth in terms of permissions granted for new homes as statistics have shown that, "Between January and June 2015, some 12,057 new dwellings, worth almost $4 billion, were consented." The new construction permissions gave a total floor area of 221 hectares. This zone is twofold the size of Wellington Airport. For this year, home permits of some 2,042 new dwellings were consented nationally and up 2 percent in comparison for the past year. The data further shows that in seasonally adjusted terms, the number was down 4.1 percent for the month of May 2015.
It is Auckland that augmented the fall in Canterbury because the improved permissions in Auckland was18 percent while in Canterbury, new home permissions were reduced by 13 percent. Data shows that the total value of consents for all buildings in June 2015 was $1.3 billion, comprising $832 million for residential buildings and $454 million for non-residential buildings.
However, despite the number of new homes being built in Auckland, it is still not enough to meet the housing needs. According to nzherald.co.nz, "The Auckland Council's Housing Project Office (HPO) has estimated the city's housing shortfall could rise rapidly to 25,000 dwellings in 2018." The Auckland Council's Housing Project Office was built to counter the housing crisis and in spite of the efforts done by the council, housing crisis still looms over the horizon for Auckland.
Will the crisis lasts for a decade or even more? Housing Minister Nick Smith says "There's still not enough existing stock or new homes being built, to accommodate the demand for housing in Auckland and building consents are not increasing in the Auckland region currently." It seems Auckland had to endure the housing crisis for the years to come.