New dwellings consents fell 3.8 per cent in January, but were up 3.6 per cent year-on-year.
Nearly $1 billion of building work was consented in the last month, according to new Statistics New Zealand figures released this morning.
The total figure was made up of $645 million of residential work and $351 million of non-residential, and was up $59 million from January last year.
Although new dwellings consents were up 3.6 per cent year-on-year, they fell from December to January, extending the small fall seen the month prior.
The seasonally adjusted number of new dwellings consented fell 3.8 per cent in January. Excluding apartments, the number fell by 7.5 per cent.
A total of 1703 new dwellings were consented last month, including 314 apartments.
Auckland received the highest number of consents - and 49 more than in January 2014 - with a total of 482 issued, including 112 apartments.
Canterbury, although consenting 53 fewer dwellings than January 2014, consented the second highest number of new dwellings last month by region, with 467 issued.
"The trend for new dwellings is rising and is at its highest level since July 2007," Stats NZ business indicators manager Neil Kelly said.
"Excluding apartments, the trend is flat."
Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler told Parliament's finance and expenditure select committee earlier this week that building height restrictions and NIMBY attitudes in inner Auckland were standing in the way of an adequate supply-side response to the region's housing shortage.
Wheeler estimated the backlog of unsatisfied demand at between 15,000 and 20,000 houses.
Finance Minister Bill English, speaking at the annual Auckland Chamber of Commerce and Massey University lunch in Auckland yesterday, said the city's local government had said 'you can't build up, but had now recognised that meant there had to be a build out.
There was broad agreement that the growing lack of housing affordability, particularly in Auckland, was a supply problem, he said.
ASB senior economist Jane Turner said the profile of apartment consents remained encouraging, but described the 7.5 per cent decline in ex-apartment consents over January as concerning.
"This could be indicative of a softening in the underlying trend for building activity."
Turner said she interpreted December and January figures with a high degree of caution as the months were impacted by the timing of Christmas and New Year's holidays.
But it's hard to avoid the impression that the housing construction upturn has stalled in the last six months, just as population growth and recent policy measures have underscored the need to build more.
Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon said while the total number of residential building consents issued was similar to the bank's forecast, the mix was more heavily skewed towards smaller apartment units, which were well above average for the third straight month.
"On a value or floor area basis, this result was disappointingly soft," he said.
"January is typically the low point of the year for the housing market, so as with the unexpectedly sharp fall in house sales that we saw last month, we're prepared to wait for another month or two of data.
"But it's hard to avoid the impression that the housing construction upturn has stalled in the last six months, just as population growth and recent policy measures have underscored the need to build more.
"Building consents slowed as a result of uncertainties ahead of last September's election, and saw some rebound in subsequent months, but they're still some way below their pre-election trend."
Last month, building consents were issued for:
• 1703 new dwellings, including apartments
• 314 apartments, including 84 retirement village units
• 1389 non-apartment dwellings.
Brendan Manning of the New Zealand Herald
