Building consents data from around the country for May prompted wide-ranging responses, with economists reading in a ''sideways trend'' or ''flat' result, and Housing Minister Nick Smith seeing a continued ''surge''.
Compared with May last year, residential building work was up 3.1% to $868 million, while commercial rose 31% to $486 million, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) business indicators manager Neil Kelly said in a statement yesterday.
Nationally, dwelling consents have increased slightly over the past year, following several years of large increases that were driven by Canterbury and Auckland.
''Numbers are approaching the level we saw between 2005 and 2007, but are still well below the peak seen in 2004,'' Mr Kelly said.
Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon said month-on-month residential consents for May were ''flat'', and in line with expectations, with a pullback in Auckland consents offset by gains elsewhere.
The Auckland decline was driven by falls in consents for apartments, townhouses and units, from 525 in April to 207 in May.
He said the sector was subject to volatility and the April total was the second highest in the past decade.
Housing minister Dr Smith said 25,114 consents were issued nationally, in the year to May, which was the highest issued in any 12-month period since 2007.
Dr Smith said the building consent data showed the strongest sustained growth in Auckland housing on record, with four consecutive years of over 20% growth.
''Consents at 8195 in the year to May 2015 represent an increase of 21% on the previous year, and the fastest rate of new house build in 10 years,'' Dr Smith said.
ASB senior economist Chris Tennent-Brown said dwelling consents were unchanged month-on-month, seasonally adjusted, and year-on-year were up 6.5%, and ''continue to trend sideways''.
He said Canterbury construction activity was already ''tapering off'', being down 10% on a year ago and likely to peak this year.
''Meanwhile, the pick-up in Auckland residential building activity remains inadequate to keep up with demand growth and the existing undersupply,'' he said.
