Building activity gathers momentum

The seasonally adjusted volume of building activity increased 9.6 percent in the September 2012 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said today.

"This is the largest quarterly increase for 10 years," industry and labour statistics manager Blair Cardno said.

"While the earthquake rebuild in Canterbury contributed to this, residential building work in the upper North Island also experienced growth."

"The increase in residential building work for the upper North Island is likely to be concentrated in the Auckland region," Mr Cardno said. "The number of building consents for new dwellings in this region has grown recently, reaching the highest level in four years."

For the country overall, non-residential building activity increased 12.4 percent, while residential building activity increased 7.1 percent.

The trend for overall building activity indicates strong growth in the September 2012 year.

See also:  Value of Building Work Put in Place: September 2012 quarter  –  Information release