Canterbury lifts nation's building activity

Building activity in Canterbury helped lift national building activity by 0.8 percent in the June 2012 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said today.

"Seasonally adjusted and trend indicators for Canterbury point to a strong increase in residential building as people start to repair and rebuild their homes following the earthquakes," industry and labour statistics manager Blair Cardno said. "Residential activity for the rest of New Zealand also rose, but not to the same extent as Canterbury."

Nationally, residential building activity increased 7.1 percent in the June 2012 quarter. This increase more than offset the 5.6 percent decrease in non-residential building activity.

The trend for overall building activity continues to rise from the 10-year low point of the September 2011 quarter.

See also:  Value of Building Work Put in Place: June 2012 quarter  –  Information release