The volume of New Zealand building work fell to a decade-low in the June quarter as construction of new housing sank.
Total building activity dropped 6.6 per cent in the three months ended June 30, following a 6.3 per cent decline in the first quarter of the year, says Statistics NZ.
That's the lowest level since September 2001, before the housing boom really hit its stride in the past decade, and was led by a 12 per cent slump in residential property.
Non-residential construction activity fell 1.4 per cent. The value of home construction sank 11 per cent to $1.28 billion in the period, with new dwellings dropping below $1 billion for the first time since June 2002.
"A decline of this extent is surprising," said Jane Turner, economist at ASB. "Construction activity was already very weak, and we had expected construction activity to remain broadly stable given building consents had started to stabilise over the first half of 2011."
