Much of the increase has been due to earthquake repairs and rebuilds in Canterbury, which are now beginning to ease the accommodation shortage that has existed since the earthquakes. We have seen a substantial easing in Christchurch rental inflation over the past year.
About 10,000 rebuilds or major repairs are yet to be completed 3 and residential building in Canterbury is expected to remain around its current high levels for the next couple of years. After that, however, we are likely to see a gradual tailing off of residential construction in Canterbury. 3  6  Based on data from the Insurance Council of New Zealand.