NZ building consents rise for first time in three months

Monday 30th July 2012

New Zealand home building consents rose for the first time in three months in June, helped by an increase in Canterbury amid earthquake rebuilding and a jump in permits for apartments including rest-home units.

The number of new dwellings authorised, including apartments, rose a seasonally adjusted 5.7 percent in June, following two months where the total fell by more than 7 percent, according to Statistics New Zealand. Excluding the volatile apartments sector, consents rose 2.1 percent.

Residential building consents rose 27 percent in June from the same month last year. Consents for apartments jumped to 118 from 68 in May, with 47 of the total made up by retirement village units.

In the South Island, the biggest surge in consents was in Canterbury, which soared by 163, or 123 percent. In total, South Island consents climbed 83 percent while those in the North Island gained 6 percent.

Canterbury consents identified as earthquake-related amounted to $45 million in June, down from $47 million in May but still the third-highest monthly total since September 2010, when the earthquakes began.

The value of consents issued in June rose 27 percent to $456 million from the same month last year. For the year ended June 30, the value of consents for residential buildings rose 12 percent to $5.5 billion while consents for all building types gained 6.9 percent to $9.2 million.

The value of non-residential buildings rose 7.7 percent to $256 million in June from a year earlier.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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