2018.08.2919:15:00UTC+00New Zealand Building Permits Slide 10% In July

The total number of building permits consented in New Zealand fell a seasonally adjusted 10 percent on month in July, Statistics New Zealand said on Thursday - standing at 2,752.

That follows the downwardly revised 8.2 percent drop in June (originally -7.6 percent).

On a yearly basis, consents climbed 8.0 percent to 32,850.

The annual value of non-residential building work consented was NZ$6.8 billion, up 10 percent on year.

"The number of new homes consented can be quite volatile on a monthly basis, particularly as the number of apartments consented tends to fluctuate a lot," construction indicators manager Melissa McKenzie said. "Looking at the longer-term picture, we are seeing growth in building consents for apartments and townhouses, while consents for stand-alone houses have been quite flat over the past two years."

In July, new dwellings were consented for 1,731 houses, 535 townhouses, flats, and units, 347 apartments and 139 retirement village units.

For stand-alone houses only, the seasonally adjusted number fell 6.0 percent, after a 3.9 percent fall in June, and 6.8 percent rise in May.

The number of new homes consented across New Zealand in the latest year were:

. 12,845 in Auckland - up 28 percent . 3,434 in Waikato - down 3.9 percent . 2,736 in Wellington - up 22 percent . 5,647 in Rest of North Island - down 5.1 percent . 4,728 in Canterbury - down 8.7 percent . 3,459 in Rest of South Island - up 1.6 percent.