2020.05.0423:25:00UTC+00New Zealand March Building Permits Fall 21.3%

The total number of building permits issued in New Zealand in March tumbled a seasonally adjusted 21.3 percent on month in March, Statistics New Zealand said on Tuesday - standing at 2,904.

That follows the upwardly revised 5.7 percent increase in February (originally 4.7 percent).

In March, dwellings were consented for: 1,722 stand-alone houses; 788 townhouses, flats, and units; 290 apartments; and 104 retirement village units.

In the year ended March 2020, the actual number of new dwellings consented was 37,606, up 9.0 percent from the March 2019 year.

The annual value of non-residential building work consented was NZ$7.1 billion, down 0.4 percent on year.

By region, the numbers of new dwellings consented in the year ended March 2020 (compared with the March 2019 year) were: 14,932 in Auckland - up 7.6 percent; 4,195 in Waikato - up 7.2 percent; 3,296 in Wellington - up 22 percent; 5,932 in rest of North Island - up 8.0 percent; 5,446 in Canterbury - up 11 percent; and 3,804 in rest of South Island - up 5.5 percent.

Non-residential building consents totaled NZ$7.1 billion, down 0.4 percent on year. This series can be influenced by price changes - non-residential construction prices (as measured by the capital goods price index) were up 5.4 percent in the December 2019 year.

In the March 2020 year, the non-residential building types with the highest values included: shops, restaurants, and bars - NZ$960 million (down 16 percent); education buildings - NZ$932 million (down 18 percent); and offices, administration, and public transport buildings - NZ$926 million (up 0.3 percent).