KEY POINTS:
The number of new buildings planned in New Zealand is continuing to fall.
New homes being authorised slumped to the lowest level in more than 20 years last month.
Building statistics show there were 1127 housing unit (including apartments) consents last month - the lowest monthly total since January 1987.
Statistics NZ released figures to December which showed a big decline in volumes and values.
"The value of residential building consents was $440 million in December 2008 - a 19 per cent decrease compared with December 2007. The trend indicates the value has fallen 37 per cent since the peak in June 2007 and is at its lowest level since June 2002," statistics New Zealand said.
Of the larger regions, Auckland, Canterbury and Waikato showed sharp drops from the previous year, while Otago and Wellington showed only minor drops.
The statistics showed a trend of a reasonably steady annual issuing of consents since 2003 leading up to the sharp 2008 drop.
ASB economist Jane Turner said the figures continued to weaken last month, falling a further 6 per cent to be down 42 per cent on figures from a year ago.
"Dwelling consent issuance has been trending lower since the end of 2007. The most recent decline implies a further large contraction in residential construction over the first quarter of 2009.
"The 2009 outlook for housing construction remains weak. Falling house prices and weak net migration inflows have reduced the incentives to build.
"In addition, rising unemployment and tight credit conditions have dampened the stimulatory effect of lower interest rates. However, the fall in interest rates appears to have helped house sales to tentatively form a bottom, suggesting the further declines in dwelling consents will be more moderate," she said.
Last month, Goldman Sachs JBWere warned tens of thousands of construction jobs were at risk.
About 35,000 jobs could be lost, economist Shamubeel Eaqub said.
Registered Master Builders Federation chief executive Warwick Quinn also expressed concern, saying builders were laying off staff because there was no work in front of them.
