Townhouses helped drive the number of new homes consented to the highest level since 1974, Stats NZ say.

A total of 3,687 new homes were consented in May. After adjusting for seasonal effects, there was an increase of 13 per cent from April 2019, when new home consents fell 7.9 per cent.

This is the largest number of new homes consented in a month since May 1974 when 3,786 were consented. The population of New Zealand in the 1970s was around three million compared with almost five million today.

'A significant increase in the number of multi-unit home consents such as townhouses drove growth in new homes consented this month,” construction statistics manager Melissa McKenzie says.

The number of homes consented each month can vary significantly due to the timing of large projects like townhouses and apartment buildings.

Auckland and Waikato saw the largest growth in new homes consented this month, driven by increases in the number of townhouses, flats, and units.

On an annual basis, both regions had the highest number of new homes consented since regional records began in 1990.

Auckland consented 13,881 new homes in the year ended May 2019, up 13 per cent from the May 2018 year, while Waikato consented over 4,000, up 17 per cent.