Property

Home building consents rise to two-year high

New Zealand's home-building approvals rose to a two-year high in April, suggesting the property market is heading for a gradual recovery, buffeted by higher interest rates.

Friday, May 28th 2010

Consents rose 8.5% last month, after a revised 0.1% increase in March, according to Statistics New Zealand. Excluding approvals for apartments, which tend to be lumpy and volatile, consents surged 16%.

The Reserve Bank is expected to raise the Official Cash Rate (OCR) next month, signalling a resumption of tightening in the wake of the recession, which will drive up home loan rates. Against that, building activity may pick up ahead of the October 1 increase on goods and services tax to 15% from 12.5%, as construction firms seek to be the impost. Property investors are also armed with the details of tax changes in the Budget, which was milder than some had feared.

"Residential construction is set to gradually recover over the year," said Jane Turner, economist at ASB. Still, the recovery will be "fairly subdued" as interest rates rise and the pace of net migration slows, she said.

The value of consents for home building and renovation jumped 35% to $480 million last month from April 2009, the government statistician said.

Non-residential building approvals declined 38% to $327 million, partly reflecting the expansion of Christchurch airport's terminal a year earlier.

Consents were granted for 91 apartments, of which more than half were in retirement villages.

Heartland Bank - Online 6.69
SBS FirstHome Combo 6.74
Wairarapa Building Society 6.95
Unity 6.99
Co-operative Bank - First Home Special 7.04
ICBC 7.05
China Construction Bank 7.09
BNZ - Classic 7.24
ASB Bank 7.24
ANZ Special 7.24
TSB Special 7.24
Unity First Home Buyer special 6.45
Heartland Bank - Online 6.45
China Construction Bank 6.75
TSB Special 6.75
ICBC 6.75
ANZ Special 6.79
ASB Bank 6.79
AIA - Go Home Loans 6.79
Kiwibank Special 6.79
BNZ - Classic 6.79
Unity 6.79
Westpac Special 6.39
China Construction Bank 6.40
ICBC 6.49
SBS Bank Special 6.55
Kiwibank Special 6.55
BNZ - Classic 6.55
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 6.55
ASB Bank 6.55
AIA - Go Home Loans 6.55
TSB Special 6.59
Kainga Ora 6.99
SBS FirstHome Combo 6.19
AIA - Back My Build 6.19
ANZ Blueprint to Build 7.39
Credit Union Auckland 7.70
ICBC 7.85
Heartland Bank - Online 7.99
Pepper Money Essential 8.29
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 8.40
Co-operative Bank - Standard 8.40
First Credit Union Standard 8.50
Kiwibank 8.50

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