Building consents blip up, but remain very low

Building consents issued in July blipped back up to 1,410 from 1,362 in June, but remain well below levels from earlier in the year and were the second lowest monthly total since February 2001. The lowest was in June 2008, which shocked observers and was a factor pointed to by those urging the Reserve Bank to cut the Official Cash Rate again on September 11. There were consents given for 1,297 new houses and 113 new apartments. Meanwhile, building costs continue to surge. The average cost per square metre rose to a record $1,397 per square metre from $1,340 the previous month and above the previous record in April 2007 of $1390 per square metre. Building costs have risen 11.1% in the last two years. Here's what Stats NZ had to say about the latest figures below.

The trend for the number of authorised new dwellings, including apartments, has been declining since June 2007, and has fallen 35 percent since that month. In July 2008 compared with June 2008, the seasonally adjusted number of authorised new dwellings, including apartments, rose 4.7 percent, while excluding apartments, the number fell 0.1 percent. For the year ended July 2008, compared with the previous July year, the number of authorised new dwellings, including apartments, fell 15 percent, and the number excluding apartments fell 14 percent. The value of authorised residential building consents was $491 million in July 2008, a decrease of 28 percent compared with July 2007. In the past four years, there have been five months with a monthly value below $500 million. The trend continues to decline from the peak in June 2007. For the year ended July 2008, residential building consents valued at $7,092 million were issued, a decrease of 9.1 percent from the July 2007 year.