A big jump in the number of apartments being built is down to Christchurch's recovery from last year's devastating earthquake.
Data released this week shows a rise in the number of new housing approvals in January this year compared with the same month the year before - and many of those were in Christchurch.
Statistics New Zealand business statistics manager Blair Cardno said: "It was the highest monthly number of apartment units consented in just over a year. Most were for retirement units in Canterbury, some of which had been delayed because of earthquakes."
Housing approval numbers for January were 1098 new houses, including apartments, up 27 per cent on the same month last year. Of those, 198 were apartments, up from 90 last year.
In Canterbury, earthquake-related building consents totalled $25 million in January, including $18 million for non-residential work, and $7 million for residential work.
