Further signs that the heat is coming out of the housing market showed today with the number of new dwelling consents falling a seasonally adjusted 0.6 per cent in September from August.
However, there was a strong increase in non-residential building with consents rising in value by 42 per cent, or$108 million, to $366m compared with September 2003, according to Statistics New Zealand today.
Consents issued for shops, restaurants and taverns contributed 21 per cent to the non-residential buildings total in September 2004, followed by consents for offices and administration buildings (15 per cent), and for factories and industrial buildings (13 per cent).
Consents for 2,291 new dwelling units were issued in September 2004, down 712 units (24 per cent) compared with September 2003.
A seasonally adjusted 2,115 new dwellings were authorised in September compared with 2,129 consents issued in August. The number issued in August was down a revised 6.4 per cent on July and 22 per cent lower than September 2003.
In the September year, 31,464 new dwelling unit consents were issued, up 4 per cent on the previous September year, and the highest for a September year since 1974, SNZ said.
Consents were issued for 295 new apartment units, compared with 284 in August, and 647 in September, 2003.
The trend for the number of new dwelling units has been declining since the start of this year.
For the September year, 31,464 new dwelling unit consents were issued, up 1,325 (4 per cent) from the year ended September 2003. This total is the largest recorded for a September year since 1974.
Eight out of 16 regions recorded more new dwelling units in September 2004 than in September 2003.
Wellington (up 29 units) recorded the largest increase when comparing the two September months, while Auckland (down 633 units) recorded the largest decrease. The Auckland region contributed 718 units (31 per cent) to the total number of new dwelling units in September 2004.
The total value of consents issued in September was $936m up $78m on September 2003. Residential buildings contributed 61 per cent of that against 70 per cent a year earlier.
