Carterton building work "booming"

Tracy Amos, co-owner of Amos Construction, says business at her Carterton company is "booming".

The number of dwellings consented in the Wellington region - including Wairarapa - has nearly doubled this March compared with the same month last year.

There were 204 consents issued in March 2015 compared with 108 residential buildings approved last year.

In total the dwelling consents as of March 2015 have been valued at $50 million in the Wellington region, according to the latest report from Statistics New Zealand.

It's not just Wellington Central builds pushing up numbers.

Tracy Amos, co-owner of Amos Construction, says business at her Carterton company is "booming".

"There's a lot of activity in Carterton right now, there's a huge new subdivision being built."

She said new builds in the area were of high value and attracting a range of home owners, from families to retiring farmers. "I think Carterton's your next booming place. Watch this space."

Nationally, dwelling consents are at their highest for March in nearly a decade, with more than 2000 projects given the go-ahead last month.

Statistics New Zealand business indicators manager Neil Kelly says it isn't just houses raising numbers to their highest since 2006. "Townhouses, units, and retirement villages have driven the increase in new dwelling consents over the past year."

The number of these dwellings consented has almost doubled, compared to March last year, with 561 applications approved.

The unadjusted value of residential consents rose 16 per cent from this time last year to $925 million.

The regions which consented the most new dwellings were Auckland with 756 consents issued (of which 449 were houses), Canterbury with 588 (including 460 houses) and Waikato with 219 dwelling consents issued in March 2015 (186 houses).