Article – BusinessDesk

July 29 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealand building consents for residential housing fell 4.5% last month, ending a three-month run of increases.

NZ building consents fall in June, ending three-month run of gains

By Paul McBeth

July 29 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealand building consents for residential housing fell 4.5% last month, ending a three-month run of increases.

The number of new dwellings authorised, excluding the volatile apartment series, fell to a seasonally adjusted 965 in June, from 1,010 a month earlier, according to Statistics New Zealand. Including apartments, consents fell 1.4% to 1,031. The value of residential building consents dropped 29% to $360 million compared to June 2010.

“The trend shows a small increase recently, following a year of decline,” Statistics NZ said in its report. “Although it has flattened and appears to have reached a turning point, trend series are subject to revision each month and at least one more month of positive movement is necessary before an increase can be confirmed.”

New Zealand’s property market has been pulling itself out of the doldrums this year after about two years of tepid sales volumes as buyers shy away from over-priced housing. The number of sales picked up last month, according to Real Estate Institute data, as the market slowly recovers.

The value of non-residential property consents rose 4.3% to $237 million last month, compared to June 2010, with a 19% increase in the value of authorised offices and administration buildings and an 18% lift in shops, restaurants and taverns driving the gains.

The value of all building consents issued fell 19% to $597 million in June compared to the same month a year earlier.

(BusinessDesk)

Content Sourced from scoop.co.nz
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