2020.01.1323:15:00UTC+00New Zealand Building Permits Sink 8.5% In November

The total number of building permits issued in New Zealand tumbled a seasonally adjusted 8.5 percent on month in November, Statistics New Zealand said on Tuesday - standing at 3,204.

That followed the downwardly revised 1.3 percent decline in October (originally -1.1 percent).

Individually, permits were issued for 1,980 stand-alone houses, 722 townhouses, 291 apartments and 211 retirement village units.

In the year ended November 2019, the actual number of new dwellings consented was 37,010, up 13 percent from the November 2018 year.

The annual value of non-residential building work consented was NZ$7.4 billion, up 4.9 percent from the November 2018 year.

By region, the numbers of new dwellings consented in the year ended November 2019 (compared with the November 2018 year) were: 14,866 in Auckland - up 16 percent; 4,176 in Waikato - up 13 percent; 3,036 in Wellington - up 11 percent; 5,849 in rest of North Island - up 6.9 percent; 5,310 in Canterbury - up 14 percent; and 3,772 in rest of South Island - up 10 percent.

In the year ended November 2019, non-residential building consents totaled NZ$7.4 billion, up 4.9 percent from the November 2018 year.

In the November 2019 year, the non-residential building types with the highest values were: education buildings - NZ$1.0 billion (down 1.5 percent); shops, restaurants, and bars - NZ$1.0 billion (down 5.4 percent); and offices, administration, and public transport buildings - NZ$981 million (up 6.3 percent).