Apartments pull building consent figures down

Seasonally-adjusted building consents fell 0.4% in the month, after lifting 9.4% in December, according to Statistics New Zealand’s latest figures, out today.

Compared to the same time last year, they were up 17.4%. Almost 60% of the consents issued were in Auckland and Christchurch.

Auckland’s consents rose 60% in January from a year earlier to 372. Canterbury consents fell by one to 378.

Apart from volatile apartment consents, building consents were up almost 10% in January.