Auckland apartment builds to outstrip houses by 2017

Rising house prices, an aging population, shrinking household sizes and record migration levels are believed to be behind the move to attached home living. Photo / Getty Images

By 2017 more than half of all new homes built in Auckland will be part of apartment blocks or terraced homes.

According to architecture and research company RCG's latest publication, Constructive Thinking, this shows Aucklanders may be warming up to the idea of attached housing.

"Based on building consent data and our own forecasts, 53 per cent of the new homes built in Auckland will be attached by 2017. This is a considerable shift from the average of the last 20 years, which has been closer to 35 per cent."

The increase in attached homes fits with trends in comparable Australian cities, RCG said.

"Demand for medium density living is booming here. In Australia's three largest
cities at least 60 per cent of new homes are attached."

Rising house prices, an aging population, shrinking household sizes and record migration levels are citied as key drivers behind the trend.

RCG economist and associate director John Polkinghorne said attached housing is an attractive option for many people.

"Auckland's population continues to grow rapidly, and for many people, a well
located and affordable apartment or terraced home is becoming a really attractive
option, compared to a standalone house on the city fringe," Polkinghorne said.

RCG associate director of research John Polkinghorne.

In findings released this month, Barfoot & Thompson surveyed 500 Aucklanders aged 18 to 34 who were yet to own property.

Around 70 per cent of would-be homeowners are still aiming for a standalone Auckland house, with just 9 per cent willing to consider an apartment, it found.

Auckland CBD, Stonefields, Albany, the Western CBD and the Southern CBD are the most effected areas by increased density.

See RCG's map of proposed construction below: