Housing consent numbers remain low

The building industry is still in a slump, figures released today show.

Building consent statistics for the month of March 2009 show the trend for the number of new housing units authorised, excluding apartment units, has continued to fall since June 2007, Statistics New Zealand said today.

The trend has fallen by more than half since June 2007, and is currently at its lowest level since this series began 17 years ago.

The seasonally adjusted number of new housing units authorised, excluding apartments, fell 1.3 per cent in March 2009.

In March 2009, there were 1,091 new housing units authorised, including 104 apartment units.

The value of non-residential building consents fell 6.4 per cent in March 2009 compared with March 2008.

However, for the year ended March 2009 compared with the year ended March 2008, the value of non-residential building consents rose 6.3 per cent while the value of residential building consents fell 26 per cent.