Residential Buildings Consents Flat In September
Building Consents Issued: September 2000
There were 1,728 new dwelling units authorised in September 2000 latest Statistics New Zealand figures show. This is similar to the 1,716 in August 2000 and 1,688 in July 2000.
Dwelling building consents have settled at about this level since January 2000. Between January 2000 and September 2000 the number of dwelling consents issued has generally ranged between 1,400 and 1,800 per month. By comparison, between March 1999 and November 1999 the number of consents issued each month was consistently over 2000 units.
Contributing to the present lower level of activity is a lower level of apartment units being authorised. In the year to September 2000, 2,775 apartment units were authorised compared with 3,990 authorised in the year ended September 1999. Other factors that may be contributing to the lower levels of dwelling consents being issued are higher interest rates and a lower level of sales within the residential property market.
In September 2000 the value of consents issued for non-residential buildings was $174.4 million. Consents for education buildings contributed $38.5 million of this total. The value of consents issued for non-residential buildings in July 2000 and August 2000 was $210.4 million and $273.2 million respectively. As monthly totals for non-residential buildings consents can be influenced by individual high value projects, caution needs to be exercised in interpreting month on month comparisons.
Ian Ewing Deputy Government Statistician
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