New Zealand October Building Permits Rise 1.5%

(RTTNews) - The total number of building permits consented in New Zealand climbed a seasonally adjusted 1.5 percent on month in October, Statistics New Zealand said on Friday - standing at 2,926.

That follows a 1.3 percent drop in September and a 7.0 percent spike in August.

In the year ended October 2018, the actual number of new dwellings consented was 32,925, up 6.7 percent from a year earlier.

The annual value of non-residential building work consented was NZ$6.8 billion, up 4.5 percent from the October 2017 year.

Individually, consents were issued for 2,032 stand-alone houses, 663 townhouses, flats and units, 143 retirement village units and 88 apartments.

For stand-alone houses only, the seasonally adjusted number rose 6.1 percent, after rising 1.2 percent in September and 0.4 percent in August.

By region, the numbers of new homes consented in the latest year were: 13,078 in Auckland - up 25 percent; 3,580 in Waikato - down 0.4 percent; 2,659 in Wellington - up 23 percent; 5,535 in rest of North Island - down 7.4 percent; 4,641 in Canterbury - down 10 percent; and 3,425 in rest of South Island - down 2.0 percent.

In the year ended October 2018, non-residential building consents was NZ$6.8 billion, up 4.5 percent on year. This series can be influenced by price changes - non-residential construction prices rose 4.6 percent in the September 2018 year, as measured by the capital goods price index.

In the October 2018 year, the non-residential building types with the highest values (compared with the October 2017 year) were: shops, restaurants, and bars - NZ$1.1 billion (up 37 percent); education buildings - NZ$946 million (down 8.8 percent); and offices, administration, and public transport - NZ$879 million (down 33 percent).