The 2,989 dwelling units worth $502.6 million approved were up a seasonally adjusted 4.7% on the August total. And August’s rise was revised upwards from the previously publishing 9.6% to 10.2%.
The September consents were up 23.5% on last September and it was also the highest monthly total since October last year when 3,412 consents were issued.
And it isn’t a case of apartments bulking up the figures. Excluding apartments the 2,342 consents issued in September was the third largest total since the current series began in 1990. The 647 apartments approved was up 33% on the number in September last year.
In the year ended September there were 30,125 consents issued, up 5,717 or 23% on the previous year.
Darren Gibbs, senior economist at Deutsche Bank, says consents are likely to remain strong for some time. "Over the medium term, however, we expect to see a gradual softening in activity in response to weakening population growth and rising longer-term interest rates (and later next year, due to higher short-term interest rates as well).
He also notes that the average value of non-apartment consents in September was only 4.2% higher than in September last year, much lower that inflation seen in sales of existing homes. Real Estate Institute figures showed the national median house prices was up 16.2% in September from September last year.
Over time, the strong level of consents should help moderate overall house price inflation as supply and demand become better aligned, Gibbs says.
