Building consents tumble, ensures rates stay low
Seasonally adjusted consents for new residential buildings, including apartments, fell 17.8% in August, after a 2.4% increase in July, according to data released by Statistic New Zealand today.
Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard cited the weak housing market as a reason inflation will be restrained, when he kept the official cash rate at 3% this month, a level he has previously identified as being stimulatory to the domestic economy.
When the volatile apartment category is excluded, the number of new housing units authorised fell 8.9%, following a 6% decline in July 2010. Consents for apartments, which tend to leap about month-on-month, tumbled 96% to just 36, the lowest since February and down from 203 in July.
The value of residential building consents was $473 million in August, up 7.3% compared to the previous year, and is 32% lower than the June 2007 peak.
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