Elevated consenting numbers a nice surprise for market

The S&P/NZX 50 index rose 27.9 points, or 0.24%, to 11,664.88. Turnover was $95.7 million.

Statistics NZ revealed this morning that townhouse, retirement village and apartment developments had continued to keep consent numbers elevated late last year.

The consent numbers accounted for 56% of the 50,209 residential consents for the 12 months to November and Stats NZ said consent approvals for multi-unit homes had ratcheted up by almost a quarter to 28,364 units for the year.

Standalone houses on the other hand fell 15% to 21,845 over the same period. Overall consent numbers saw a 3.2% jump on the comparable period which was largely led by townhouse developments in Auckland.