Value of Building Work Put in Place: June 2009 quarter

For the first time since 1989, when this series began, the seasonally adjusted volume of residential building work put in place has fallen below the volume of non-residential building work put in place, Statistics New Zealand said today.

The volume of residential building work is usually more than 20 percent higher than non-residential building work. The volume of both residential and non-residential building work fell in the June 2009 quarter, the volume of residential building work falling more than non-residential.

The seasonally adjusted volume of residential building work put in place this quarter fell 6.5 percent to $935 million, which is the lowest volume since the September 2001 quarter. The volume of non-residential building work put in place for the June 2009 quarter fell 2.5 percent to $941 million.

The trend indicates that the volume of residential building work put in place has decreased by over a third since its most recent peak in the September 2007 quarter, while non-residential building work has remained relatively stable. The volume of non-residential building work is being maintained by continuing construction on several large projects such as sports stadiums.

For the June 2009 year, the unadjusted value of all building work put in place was $11.7 billion, down 13.4 percent from the previous year. This fall is attributable to the fall in residential building, which is 24.3 percent lower than for the June 2008 year. Non-residential building work is up 4.9 percent from the previous year.

For the June 2009 year, residential building work comprised 54.5 percent of all building work put in place, down from 62.4 percent in the June 2008 year.