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.
