Residential building and consents increase

In releasing its March 2010 quarter figures, Statistics New Zealand emphasised that though the trend of all building work increased in the past two quarters, it is still 24% lower than the most recent peak in December 2007.

New home building consents have trended up since early 2009 and the increase in residential work during the March quarter reflects this Statistics said. The seasonally adjusted value of residential building work, at current prices, rose 2.2% in the March 2010 quarter, following a 7.5% rise in the December quarter.

For the March 2010 year, the unadjusted value of residential building work put in place was $5.8 billion, down more than $1 billion or 15% from March 2009. Of this total, new dwellings fell $937 million, and alterations, additions and out-buildings fell $66 million.

The residential market was in state of flux during the first three months of the year after Prime Minister John Key flagged a crackdown on tax advantages of investing in property. Since then, Finance Minister Bill English unveiled the changes in last month's budget, removing investors' ability to claim depreciation on buildings and closing tax loopholes on loss attributing qualifying companies.