Building consents climb for third straight month

New building permits, including apartments, climbed 3.3% in September, adding to gains in July and August, according to Statistics New Zealand. Permits were issued for 155 new apartments, 93% of which were associated with retirement villages, from just 30 in August. 

"The recovery in residential construction continues to lag behind the recovery in housing demand," said Jane Turner, economist at ASB in a report. "Low interest rates and an increase in net migration have underpinned a lift in demand for housing - however, supply has been sluggish to respond."  

The property market has come back from its lows earlier this year amid unusually low mortgage rates and excess demand for new houses, with the national median price rising to $350,000 last month, according to Real Estate Institute data.

The construction sector has supported rising business confidence, with the National Bank Business Outlook showing the industry leading the survey's rankings in sentiment, activity expectations, employment, profit and investment.