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Source: Reuters -
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New builds are at their lowest point since the early 1990s, Statistics New Zealand figures released on Wednesday show.
The number of building consents for new housing units in November 2008, at 1,168 units, was the lowest monthly total since January 1992.
Not including apartments, only 1,052 new housing units were authorised - the lowest monthly total since the series began in January 1990. This reflects a seasonally adjusted decline of 4.0% compared with October 2008.
For the year to November, building consents for new housing units fell 26% - the first time the yearly total has fallen below 20,000 since the April 1994 year.
The value of residential consents for the year to November also dropped, falling 19%.
The ASB Bank says the incentive to build has been affected by falling house prices and weak migration into New Zealand, along with rising employment uncertainty and higher deposit requirements.
However, it says the medium term outlook for construction should be more positive, with ongoing population growth likely to provide a base for construction activity.
The bright spot was the value of non-residential buildings which rose 6.5% compared with the year ended November 2007. On a monthly basis, consent values were stable, down slightly by 0.8% on the same month last year.
However, ASB says consents issued in November may reflect decisions made before the worst of the financial crisis hit in the later part of 2008, which may see some consented projects cancelled or put on hold.
ASB says ongoing weakness in housing construction is another reason for the Reserve Bank to continue lowering interest rates.
