New Zealand building consents fell to a record low in 2011, underlining a slump in activity that has hurt earnings at construction firms including Fletcher Building.
There were 13,662 consents issued for new homes last year, down 12 per cent from a year earlier and the lowest since Statistics New Zealand began tracking the figures 46 years ago.
Excluding apartments, consents fell 15 per cent to 12,506. The value of residential consents fell 12 per cent to $4.9 billion.
In October, Fletcher Building said housing starts at "historically low levels" would contribute to a 10 per cent drop in first-half profit and likely stalling of full-year earnings.
"Consent issuance remains weak and continues to point to a very weak construction outlook," said Jane Turner, economist at ASB.
"Over the third quarter of 2011, we had started to see tentative signs of improving construction demand.
"Weakness in consent issuance over the past two months suggests this momentum may be fading."
New dwelling consents rose 2.1 per cent in December, seasonally adjusted, though excluding apartments consents fell 0.2 per cent in the latest month, according to the government statistician.
Consents in Auckland rose 51 per cent to 292 in December from a year earlier, while those for Wellington gained 45 per cent to 188 and for Canterbury rose 19 per cent to 199, while in the Bay of Plenty they fell 25 per cent to 44 and in Manawatu-Wanganui declined 29 per cent to 34.
Earthquake-related consents in Canterbury were valued at $29 million last month, down from $47 million in November.
The value of non-residential consents rose 2.1 per cent to $338 million in December from a year earlier.
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