Value of Residential Construction Healthy

29 September 2006

Value of Residential Construction Healthy

The value of consents issued for residential construction reflects a healthy building and construction industry according to the Registered Master Builders Federation following Statistics New Zealand’s release of building consent statistics for August.

The value of consents issued for residential buildings in August 2006 was $694 million, 9.7% higher than August 2005, with the trend showing upward increases since March 2006.

Registered Master Builders Federation, President, Ashley Hartley says the August statistics show that the industry is still thriving.

“Residential construction within the regions, in particular the Bay of Plenty, Wellington and Otago reflect this trend with increases in residential consents issued. The Bay of Plenty in particular showed its second highest monthly increase in the number of new housing units issued since recording began,” Mr Hartley says.

“While these figures trend well for the construction sector, we are still expecting the flattening in the market to continue over the next two or three years. This will more than likely be caused by export incomes, conservatism on the part of business and the normal leads and lags in the building industry,” says Mr Hartley.

ENDS

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