2019.05.2919:49:00UTC+00New Zealand Building Permits Tumble 7.9% In April

The total number of building permits issued in New Zealand fell a seasonally adjusted 7.9 percent on month in March, Statistics New Zealand said on Thursday.

That follows the downwardly revised 7.4 percent drop in March (originally -6.9 percent).

In the year ended April 2019, the actual number of new dwellings consented was 34,392, up 7.4 percent from the April 2018 year.

The annual value of non-residential building work consented was NZ$7.5 billion, up 11 percent from the April 2018 year.

In April 2019, 2,605 new dwellings were consented, comprising: 1,659 stand-alone houses; 553 townhouses, flats, and units; 201 retirement village units; and 192 apartments.

The seasonally adjusted number of new dwellings consented fell 7.9 percent from March 2019. For stand-alone houses only, the seasonally adjusted number fell 4.2 percent.

By region, the numbers of new dwellings consented in the year ended April 2019 (compared with the April 2018 year) were: 13,754 in Auckland - up 18 percent; 3,893 in Waikato - up 12 percent; 2,729 in Wellington - up 3.5 percent; 5,466 in rest of North Island - down 6.7 percent; 4,958 in Canterbury - up 0.3 percent; and 3,584 in rest of South Island - up 3.0 percent.

In the year ended April 2019, non-residential building consents totaled NZ$7.5 billion, up 11 percent from the April 2018 year. This series can be influenced by price changes - non-residential construction prices (as measured by the capital goods price index) rose 4.6 percent in the March 2019 year.

In the April 2019 year, the non-residential building types with the highest values were: shops, restaurants, and bars - NZ$1.2 billion (up 28 percent); education buildings - NZ$1.1 billion (up 3.6 percent); and social, cultural, and religious buildings - NZ$1.1 billion (up 44 percent).