August 2007 figures for new building consents were released today. The figures, from Statistics New Zealand, showed the building boom was continuing, with:

• Ten of the country’s 16 regions authorising more new housing units.
• The largest increases were seen in Auckland and Canterbury, and the largest decrease in the Bay of Plenty.
• 2,465 new housing units were authorised, 28 more than in August 2006.
• The value of consents issued for housing units was $753 million, 8.5 percent higher than in August 2006.
• The trend for the number of new housing units has been increasing since January 2007, but the rate has been slowing in recent months.
• Excluding apartments, 2,212 new housing units were authorised, 41 more than in August 2006.

Pieter Burghout CEO, Registered Master Builders commented:

“We’ve been predicting this flattening out of the industry to occur across 2006 and 2007, but clearly the increased value in the work that is being undertaken continues to rise and reflects a buoyant and healthy sector, with our builders still being kept very busy… The continued healthy state of the building and construction sector has played, and continues to play, its part in underpinning the health of the overall New Zealand economy.

“We are forecasting the continuation of this pattern through the remainder of 2007 into 2008, before starting to rise again in 2009.”