Building activity at 10-year low

Building activity at 10-year low

Building activity has fallen to the lowest level in 10 years, Statistics New Zealand said today. The amount of building work fell 6.6 percent in the June 2011 quarter, after adjusting for price and seasonal effects. A drop in residential building activity led the fall. This follows a similar fall in the March quarter, which was led by a drop in non-residential building activity.

Residential building activity fell 12 percent in the June quarter. It has now fallen 24 percent in the latest year, to the lowest level in 18 years. This comes after the number of new homes approved also hit a record low earlier this year. For more information, see Building Consents Issued: July 2011.

Non-residential building activity fell slightly in the June quarter, down 1.4 percent, following a fall of 10 percent in the previous quarter.

This survey is designed for accuracy at the national level, not regionally. However, to assess the impact of the Canterbury earthquakes, we have done extra investigation into building work in the region and how it compares with the rest of the country.

"It looks as though Canterbury actually performed slightly better than the rest of the country in the June quarter," industry and labour statistics manager Kathy Connolly said. "It seems that residential building work in Canterbury fell by slightly less than in the rest of the country, while non-residential building work appears to have risen."

In the June 2011 year compared with the June 2010 year, the unadjusted value of:

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* all building work was $10,589 million, down 1.2 percent

* residential building work was $5,791 million, down 5.1 percent

* non-residential building work was $4,798 million, up 3.9 percent.

Data on building activity is obtained each quarter, primarily by a postal survey of around 3,500 builders, owners, and other building consent applicants. For more information on building activity statistics, see Value of Building Work Put in Place: June 2011 quarter.

Value Of Building Work Jun11 qtr (pdf)

Geoff Bascand

Government Statistician

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