Housing experts do not expect a surge in building activity to ease the shortage of affordable housing, especially in Auckland and Christchurch.
Official figures show residential building activity grew a seasonally adjusted 12% in the March quarter, the biggest jump since 2002.
Kay Saville-Smith of the Wellington social research group Cresa says the figures cover house repair as well as building, so the total number of houses built may not have gone up by very much.
Housing Minister Nick Smith has welcomed the increase but says far more is needed to make Auckland housing affordable.
Dr Smith says Auckland needs to build 13,000 houses annually, but for years has been building just 4000 homes.
He says the Government remains determined to overrule councils that neglect housing land availability.
