Rebuilding in Canterbury has underpinned five months of
improved construction activity and that, along with increased
house-building in Auckland, is expected to continue
throughout this year.
Statistics New Zealand figures out yesterday showed building
work grew for a fifth quarter in the final three months of
2012, although the pace of residential construction growth
slowed in the period.
The volume of all building work grew a seasonally adjusted
1.8% in the three months ended December, slowing from a 9.8%
pace of expansion in the September period.
The increase in building work was not limited to the
Canterbury rebuilding, which was comparable to the rest of
the country, Statistics NZ said.
The volume of residential property building grew 0.7% in the
quarter, slowing from 6.5%, while non-residential work grew
3%, compared to 14% growth in the September period.
ASB economist Christina Leung said recent business surveys
already showed capacity pressures emerging in the building
sector.
''But for now, the pressures look to be localised, with the
overall inflation environment in New Zealand subdued. We will
keep an eye on the extent to which the ramp-up in
construction activity flows through to underlying inflation
pressure,'' she said.
The unadjusted value of building work put in place rose 15%
to $2.98 billion for all building in the December quarter,
and was up 8.3% to $10.78 billion annually.
Of that, new residential dwellings rose 24% to $1.31 billion
in quarter, and were up 15% to $4.71 billion in the year.
Including alterations, residential building rose a quarterly
17% to $1.65 billion, and an annual 12% to $6.03 billion.
Non-residential building work climbed 13% to $1.33 billion,
and was up an annual 4.2% to $4.73 billion.
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.