New Zealand building consents fell 0.8 per cent last month as a decline in the number of new permits to build apartments undermined growth in intentions to build new houses.
New dwelling consents fell to a seasonally adjusted 1,712 in July from 1,726 a month earlier adding to a 4.3 per cent decline in June, according to Statistics New Zealand. Stripping out apartments, new permits issued climbed 3.1 per cent to 1,561, turning positive for the first month since April.
On an unadjusted basis, new residential permits climbed 28 per cent to 1,893 from July 2012, and were up 35 per cent excluding apartments to 1,675. Annual residential building permits climbed 22 per cent to 19,146, and were up 23 per cent to 17,354 without apartments.
Property markets in New Zealand's two biggest cities, Auckland and Christchurch, have been underpinning national increases as a lack of supply and heightened demand fuels higher prices. The heat prompted the Reserve Bank to impose limits on the level of low-equity bank lending as a means to alleviate some of that pressure.
Today's figures show Auckland reported the biggest increase in new dwelling permits, rising 148 to 556 from a year earlier, Canterbury rose 136 to 507, and Wellington increased 54 to 169.