Building activity mixed

The volume of residential building activity has increased 2.0 percent in the March 2010 quarter, after removing seasonal effects, Statistics New Zealand said today. This increase follows a 7.2 percent increase in the December 2009 quarter. In contrast, the volume of non-residential building activity fell 0.8 percent in the March 2010 quarter, the fifth consecutive quarterly fall.

The trend for the volume of residential building activity has increased for the last two quarters. "To put these increases in context, the trend had been declining for two years, and even with the latest increases the level is still about a third lower than the most recent peak in September 2007," building statistics manager Tehseen Islam said. The trend for non-residential building activity has declined from the beginning of 2009, down 14.2 percent over that time.

For the March 2010 year, the unadjusted value of all building activity was $10,604 million, down 12.6 percent from the previous year. The unadjusted value of total residential building activity fell 14.7 percent in the March 2010 year, driven by a fall in new dwellings. Commercial buildings were the largest contributor to the 9.9 percent fall in non-residential building activity for the March 2010 year.

Data on building activity is obtained each quarter primarily by a postal survey of around 3,500 builders, owners, and other building consent applicants.

Cathryn Ashley-Jones 8 June 2010
Acting Government Statistician