Weakening trend but housing consents still high

A consistent pattern of weakening housing construction activity is emerging, although housing consents are still at historically high levels.

The 2,544 housing consents worth $490.8 million issued in May were just one less than the number issued in April but in seasonally adjusted terms were down 0.5%. While not a huge drop, it was the fourth month in a row to show a decline.

Statistics New Zealand says its trend series has been declining since November last year.

National Bank economists note that excluding apartments, consents have been broadly unchanged since February in seasonally adjusted terms.

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