Building consents for new homes have bounced back strongly from a sickly April. Seasonally adjusted figures showed a 36 per cent increase in May after a 9.9 per cent fall in April. But increased economic uncertainty and a likely sharp fall in house prices could see some construction projects cancelled. Consents for non-residential building work had been falling before the pandemic, and in May had declined 5.5 per cent in value over the past year. May's lift brought residential consents almost back to pre-lockdown levels, he said.

Source: Stuff July 01, 2020 00:00 UTC