New Zealand Housing Recovery Remains Strong
At first glance, a 7.2 per cent drop in the seasonally adjusted number of consents granted for residential unit construction throughout New Zealand in April would not appear to bode well for the country’s housing construction sector.
Even stripping out the volatile apartments sector, a 5.8 per cent drop (seasonally adjusted) in consent numbers for stand-alone houses would not look encouraging at face value.
That changes when you put the figures in perspective. When compared with April, 2011, the number of all residential consents is up 33 per cent and that for stand-alone houses is up 22 per cent. Indeed, April’s seasonally adjusted number of consents for all residential units was at its third highest level since July 2010; and that number excluding apartments is at its second highest level during that time....
