NZ home building slips further in December

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The value of new home building slipped further in the December quarter as New Zealand households continued to focus on repaying debts, while non-residential building projects surged.

The value of residential building work put in place dropped 7.1 per cent to a seasonally adjusted $1.47 billion in the three months ended December 31, following on from a 5.8 per cent decline in the prior quarter.

That reflects the tougher economic environment faced by the average New Zealander in an economy that may have teetered back into recession last year.

The dip in home building was offset by an 11 per cent increase in the value of non-residential buildings which rose to $1.3 billion in the quarter.

That took the total value of buildings to $2.78 billion, up 1.1 per cent on the previous period.

The residential pause, which began in the September quarter, came after nine months of expansion, and excludes any rebuilding work related to the September 4 earthquake in Christchurch, with the bulk of the building consents yet to be issued at the time of the survey.

Non-residential building saw increased building activity across hospitals and nursing homes, factories and industrial buildings, and educational buildings, and comes amid signs that New Zealand businesses were clawing their way back to recovery last year, according to the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research.

Still, the property and construction sectors were still weak, with the value of January building consents sank to a nine-year low in its seventh straight decline, according to government data yesterday.

Any immediate improvements in home and commercial building values are unlikely after Christchurch was struck by a second earthquake, with damage estimated to be in the region of $15 billion. That will delay already scheduled projects in the region, and shelve any planned work.