Commercial building permits in doldrums
The value of non-residential consents shrank 40% to $289 million in May from a year ago, according to Statistics New Zealand data, and was down from $327 million in April.
That came in the same month that the government changed its tax treatment for property, removing claims on depreciation of buildings.
Consents for new homes, excluding apartment approvals, tumbled 9.5% to 1,333 new houses, from May 2009. Including apartments, new permits sank 9.6% to 1,360.
"The decline in consent issuance for shops and restaurants indicate some softness in private non-residential construction in the near-term. Furthermore, consent issuance of office buildings remains subdued," said Jane Turner, economist at ASB.
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