Building consents fall again

While the figures show a further cooling in the super-heated construction market, the seasonally adjusted figures show the number of consents were still 3.9 per cent ahead of the 2488 consents authorised last May.

An actual 31,793 consents were authorised in the year to May -- the highest annual total since April 1976.

Despite the removal of seasonal variations, the series remains volatile because of a fluctuation in the number of consents issued for new apartments.

"Building consents in May 2004 confirmed a downward trend in the number of new dwelling units since January 2004," the department said.

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