Hope for next year despite consents fall

Building consent numbers fell further in October, but there is some hope among economists that the industry will look up next year.

Figures from Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) yesterday showed dwelling unit approvals falling for a fourth consecutive month if apartments are excluded, dropping a seasonally adjusted 1.1 per cent in October.

The unadjusted 1099 new dwelling units, excluding apartments, approved last month were 17 per cent lower than a year earlier, while the 24 new apartment units were 77 per cent lower.

When apartments are included, building consents fell a seasonally adjusted 2 per cent in October after a 0.2 per cent rise in September.

ANZ economist Mark Smith said the key information was that consent issuance remained weak for both residential and non-residential construction.

The floor area of residential consents was about 50 per cent below its post-1990 average, with non-residential about 20 per cent below its historical average, Smith said.

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Posted: 1 Dec 2010

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