The number of new dwellings consented rose strongly in February after falling in the previous month, according to figures from Statistics New Zealand announced.

The Bay of Plenty saw the second largest increase throughout New Zealand in amounts of new dwellings consented, with 99 new consents taking the total consents to 200 - a 98 per cent rise.

The Bay of Plenty saw the second largest increase in new dwellings consented.

Auckland had the largest increase, with 259 new dwellings consented, taking the total consents to 787 - a 49 per cent increase.

A total of 2379 new dwellings were consented in February 2016, making it the highest number for a February month since 2004, up 35 percent from the same month in 2015.

'This month's increase was led by Auckland, with other strong increases in Waikato, Bay of Plenty, and Otago,” says business indicators manager Clara Eatherley.

In February 2016, building consents were valued at $1.4 billion for all buildings, showing a 17 per cent rise from February 2015.

This breaks down to $1.1 billion for residential buildings, a 40 per cent rise since February 2015, and $372 million for non-residential buildings, a 21 per cent drop since February 2015.

In seasonally adjusted terms, the number of new dwellings consented rose 11 percent in February, recovering from a 7.8 percent fall in January.

The trend for the number of new dwellings consented continued to increase, and is at its highest level since mid-2004.

The consents in February 2016 consisted of 1712 new houses, 341 townhouses, flats and units, 204 apartments, and 122 retirement village units.

The ongoing strong growth in residential building construction confirm the Government's housing supply initiatives are working, says Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith.

'The 27,745 new homes consented in the year to February is the highest in a decade. The interesting feature of these latest figures is that the housing boom that started in Christchurch followed by Auckland is now spreading to other parts of the country like the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Nelson/Tasman and Queenstown.

'The Government is keeping its foot on the accelerator to ensure this positive momentum continues.”