New dwelling consents down in January

Residential buildings contributed 68 per cent to the total value of all buildings last month. File picture

The number of building consents issued for new dwelling units in January fell to 2281 on a seasonally adjusted basis, down 7.2 per cent compared to December, according to Statistics New Zealand (SNZ).

January was typically a slow month for building consents, mainly due to the summer holiday season, SNZ said in a statement .

On a trend basis, which removes seasonal influences, consents for 1793 new dwelling units were issued in January.

Looking at the year ended January, consents for 30,544 new dwelling units were issued, down 0.2 per cent on the previous year.

Apartments accounted for 13 per cent of new dwelling units for the month, compared to 25 per cent in November and December last year. Consents for 237 new apartments were issued in January.

The total trend value of consents issued for non-residential buildings was $242 million, up 11 per cent on January last year. The trend for the value of non-residential buildings has risen 28 per cent since January last year.

The total value of consents issued for all buildings in January was $755 million, in line with the $752.5 million the previous January, but down from $911.5 million in December.

Residential buildings contributed 68 per cent to the total value of all buildings last month, compared with 71 per cent in January 2004.

For the year ended January the total value of consents issued for all buildings was $10.7 billion, up $1.465 billion on the previous year.

Ten out of 16 regions recorded fewer new dwelling units in January than the previous year. Auckland reported the largest decrease, down 687 units; followed by Wellington, down 123 units; and Otago down 94 units. Canterbury showed the largest increase, up 34 units; followed by Manawatu-Wanganui up 26 units.

- NZPA