Building consents fall 9.5pc in May

The number of consents issued for new homes fell 9.5 per cent during May, following a 13.4 per cent rise during April, Statistics New Zealand says.

When the volatile apartment category is included, consents for new houses fell 9.6 per cent, following an 8.4 per cent rise the previous month.

Business statistics manager Louise Holmes-Oliver said the "increased variability" of the stats reflected short-term behaviour.

"If the economy was tracking along fine, we would not expect to see that amount of variation in the results, but because we are coming out of a low point in the economy, that variation is a normal feature," she said.

The long-term trend for numbers of building consents has been increasing since March 2009, however the level is still 30 per cent lower than the June 2007 peak.

During May residential building consents were issued for 1333 dwellings and 27 new apartment units, compared to May last year when just 963 consents were issued for new homes.

ANZ economist Mark Smith said a material pick-up of building consents was unlikely until later in the year, as net migration eased and the house market remained soft.

To read the full NZ Herald article, click here

Posted: 29 Jun 2010

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