Housing consent numbers down in September

There were 2,032 new housing units authorised in September 2007, 513 fewer units than in September2006, Statistics New Zealand said today.

The main contribution to the decrease came from apartmentconsents, which were down by 391 units.

The trend for the number of new housing units has slowed in recent months.

Twelve of the 16 regions authorised fewer new housing units in September 2007 than in September 2006.

The largest decrease (334 units) occurred in Auckland, after a high September month last year.

There were458 fewer housing units authorised in the North Island and 55 fewer in the South Island.

Residential building consents to the value of $613 million were issued in September 2007, down 10 percentfrom September 2006.

The trend for the value of residential buildings has been decreasing in recentmonths.

Non-residential building consents to the value of $302 million were issued in September 2007, down 8.8percent from September 2006.

The largest decreases were for offices and administration buildings, andhotels and other short-term accommodation.

The largest increases were for hospitals and nursing homes,and storage buildings.