13 This series is a quarterly one so doesn’t fully reflect the recent slowdown in building consents across the country. As a result it appears to show the gap between population and new dwellings closing. The recent slowdown in consent activity is likely to see the gap begin to widen again. Population Growth Compared to Building Consents Quarterly Population Change and Building Consents Nationwide Source: Statistics New Zealand, MBIE The above calculation assumes 80% of dwellings consented translate into an actual increase in the number of dwellings, and that each of those dwellings will house the current average number of people (2.7 people per dwelling). For example, over the year to December 2016 there were 31,766 dwellings consented (able to house 68,614 people), and an increase in population of 99,800, leaving a difference of around 31,000 too many people for dwellings.