Volume of residential building work lowest in six years

The seasonally adjusted volume of residential building work put in place for the September 2008 quarter isthe lowest since June 2002, Statistics New Zealand said today.

The volume of residential building work putin place has been falling since the most recent peak in September 2007. In the latest quarter the volume fell7.9 percent.

The trend indicates the volume of residential building work has decreased by over one-fifth in the past year.According to the Building Consents Issued: October 2008 Hot Off the Press, the number of consentsauthorised for new dwellings is at its lowest level since January 1992.

In contrast, the seasonally adjusted volume of non-residential building work rose 5.8 percent inthe September 2008 quarter, following falls in the previous two quarters.

In the latest quarter, there was ahigher-than-usual number of building jobs that each had a value of work put in place of more than $10million.

The seasonally adjusted volume of all building work put in place fell 2.1 percent in the September 2008quarter, the third successive fall.

For the year ended September 2008, the unadjusted value of all building work put in place was $13.2billion, up 0.1 percent from the previous September year.

Residential buildings contributed 60.6 percent ofthis value, and non-residential buildings contributed the remaining 39.4 percent