New home construction in Hamilton is rising, with a record number of residential building consents granted in 2018.
Hamilton City Council’s 2018 data shows 1440 new homes were approved within 837 building consents.
The 2018 figure is an increase of 28 percent on the 1124 homes consented in 2017 and is the highest number of new home consents approved since digital records began in the 1990s.
More than half of all consents were for building multiple homes like duplexes, townhouses or apartments on one section. There was also a significant increase in the number of new retirement units (131) in 2018, now nine percent of all new homes.
Council general manager city growth Jen Baird says it’s good to see a variety of different house types in Hamilton.
“Our housing environment is changing and it’s not practical for every home in Hamilton to be on a quarter-acre section. The mix between higher-density living in apartments and townhouses and larger more traditional homes on a bigger section provide lifestyle choices for people looking for their next home,” said Baird.
Northwest suburbs Sylvester and Horsham Downs have been the most active suburbs for new housing construction, while established areas west of the Waikato River see the largest volume of higher-density living.
Resource consents as a whole reached a 12-year high at 1299 consents, although land use and subdivision consents were marginally lower in 2018 than in 2017 with 754 and 764 consents approved respectively.
“Growth is a great challenge for the city to have. As the city changes, our residents have more options and our communities evolve in new and exciting ways,” Baird said.
“There is a lot of building work being done and we are constantly looking at how we make the process simpler. At the end of last year we launched an online building consent system to make the application and tracking process easier and we’ll continue to enhance the system based on user feedback.”
The council is investing $2 billion in the city’s biggest-ever 10-year capital programme to set the platform for planned, sustainable growth and to look after Hamilton’s future transport, infrastructure and community facilities.
This investment includes fast-tracking the development of Peacocke, a 720ha area in south Hamilton, making it the city’s primary growth area. Over the next 10 years, Peacocke is projected to deliver a third of Hamilton’s medium-term housing needs and 26 percent of Hamilton’s long-term housing needs.
