28 Feb 2014

January dip for building consents

1:12 pm on 28 February 2014

Consents to build new houses unexpectedly dipped in January but economists say the trend remains strong and too much should not be read into one month's figures.

Consents fell 8.3 percent in January in seasonally adjusted terms, and that followed a 7.1 percent increase in December and a 12.1 percent jump in November.

Excluding the more volatile apartment consents, they were down 1.3 percent in January.

Statistics New Zealand says the trend, excluding apartments, is at its highest level since January 2008 and is nearly 80 percent higher than the most recent low point in March 2011.