New Zealand's fourth-quarter Building Permits saw a decline in the seasonally-adjusted QoQ figure compared tp September, sliding 3.4% and adding additional downside to the previous quarter's 13% decline.
New Zealand new homes consents in December 2023 dropped steeply, falling 25% YoY compared to December of 2022, with standalone housing units specifically declining to its slowest pace of approvals since 2013, and multi-family homes also declined to their slowest pace of approvals since 2021.
“The number of homes consented in 2023 was down from 49,538 in 2022, which was the highest number in a calendar year since records began."
“2023 was the first year that the number of townhouses, flats, and units consented exceeded the number of stand-alone houses."
The Building Permits s.a. released by the Statistics New Zealand show the number of permits for new construction projects. It is considered as a leading indicator for the housing market. The more growing number of permits, the more positive (or bullish) for the NZD, while a low reading is seen as negative, or bearish.