Housing consents decline

The trend for the number of new housing units authorised is declining, Statistics New Zealand said today.The latest five months all show a decrease.

There were 2,085 new housing units authorised in October 2007, 292 fewer than in October 2006. Most ofthis decrease came from apartment consents, which were down by 260 units.

Compared with October 2006, the largest decreases were in Auckland, down 317 units (because of a highnumber of apartments in October 2006), and in Waikato, down 77 units.

There were 272 fewer housingunits authorised in the North Island and 20 fewer in the South Island.

Residential building consents totalled $646 million in October 2007, down 3.4 percent from October 2006.

The trend value for residential buildings is declining.Non-residential building consents totalled $381 million in October 2007, up 15 percent from October 2006.

The largest increase was for offices and administration buildings.