New dwelling consents in New Zealand have continued to rise and are now at the highest level since September 2007, according to data from Statistics New Zealand.

‘The trend for new dwellings has doubled since the historic low point in March 2011, but is still 28% below the peak in January 2004,’ said Blair Cardno, industry and labour statistics manager.

In January 2014, the seasonally adjusted number of new dwellings consented, including apartments, fell 8.3%, although this wasn’t enough to reverse the rises of late last year.

Apartment numbers returned to a lower level in January, after recording high numbers in November and December. Excluding apartments, the seasonally adjusted number of new dwellings fell only 1.3% in January, following a rise of 11% last year.

Together, Auckland and Canterbury accounted for 58% of the new building permits.