Consents Fall from Peak but Remain High

Consents Fall from Peak but Remain High

Building consent numbers and values remain high despite falling from the recent peak, Statistics New Zealand said today.

Consents for 2,145 new dwelling units were issued in February 2005. Consents for new dwelling units have largely remained over 2,000 since February 2003, but have fallen back from the peak experienced between July 2003 and July 2004, when the average monthly total was 2,739 new dwelling units.

Consents for 327 new apartment units were issued in February 2005, accounting for 15 percent of all new dwelling units. This was similar to the apartment unit contribution in January 2005, but less than October, November and December 2004 when apartment units contributed to one-quarter of all new dwelling units.

The total value of consents issued for non-residential buildings was $316 million in February 2005, up 48 percent on February 2004. However, this is below the average monthly total value of $351 million between June 2004 and December 2004. The largest contributor to the February 2005 value was storage buildings, with $54 million. The Capital Goods Price Index for non-residential buildings was 10 percent higher in the December 2004 quarter compared with the December 2003 quarter.

The total value of consents issued for all buildings in February 2005 was $861 million, up 11 percent on February 2004. Residential buildings contributed 63 percent to the total value of all buildings, compared with 72 percent in February 2004.

Brian Pink

Government Statistician

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