Statistics New Zealand data yesterday on building consents issued during July appeared positive, being up 26% on July last year, but this was underpinned by 235 new apartments, including 70 retirement village units.
The 1243 new houses in July were up 20%, compared with July last year, but the number of new houses in July compared with June this year revealed a 2.5% decline.
A week ago Fletcher delivered a full-year after-tax profit at the lower end of earlier guidance, at $317 million, partly citing low work volumes in New Zealand and Australia.
ASB economist Christina Leung said the increase in dwelling consents was driven by apartment buildings, particularly in Auckland and Christchurch.
"We expect a continued improvement in consent issuance over the coming months as rebuilding activity gathers further momentum," she said yesterday.
The largest regional increase was building in the combined areas of Christchurch central and adjacent districts Waimakariri and Selwyn, followed by Auckland which was underpinned by apartment-building.
Earthquake-related consents totalled $59 million for July, the highest monthly spend since the first quakes in September 2010, of which $41 million was non-residential and $18 million residential, including 33 new homes.
Construction in Australia on new homes and units has slumped to its lowest level in a decade, prompting fresh calls from the Housing Industry Association for the federal and state governments to do more to support the struggling sector.
HIA chief economist Harley Dale said the sector was faring worse now than at the height of the global financial crisis, BusinessDay reported.
Residential construction slumped 1.9% in the June quarter, in seasonally-adjusted terms, to its weakest level since 2002, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics this week.
New residential building work in Australia fell by 2.5% compared with the previous quarter, while alterations and additions, including home renovations, were down 2.3%.
