30 Jan 2016

Consents for Auckland apartments soar

7:42 am on 30 January 2016

New figures reveal a 68 percent rise in the number of apartment consents that have been granted in the past year in Auckland.

Auckland city deprivation

Photo: RNZ / Nicole Pryor

Statistics New Zealand released the figures yesterday, also noting a 21 percent jump in new dwellings consented in 2015.

Auckland mayor Len Brown said that was more than double New Zealand's overall increase of 9.8 percent for consented dwellings in 2015 - the highest number in 11 years.

The increase in the number of apartments consented in particular proved what Aucklanders already knew - that they wanted affordable choices in the types of housing available.

There's also been a 43 percent rise in consents of townhouses, flats and units, and a 10 percent increase in housing consents.

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