The volume of total building activity in New Zealand dropped a seasonally adjusted 0.9 percent on quarter in the first three months of 2018, Statistics New Zealand said on Wednesday.
That was well shy of forecasts for an increase of 0.5 percent following the downwardly revised 1.0 percent gain in the previous three months (originally 1.4 percent).
Residential building activity volume fell 0.5 percent on quarter following a 0.8 percent drop in the three months prior. Non-residential building activity volume skidded 1.5 percent on quarter after climbing 3.8 percent in Q4.
The actual value of total building work was NZ$5.3 billion - up 7.0 percent from the March 2017 quarter.
The regions with the highest total values in Q1 were: Auckland - NZ$2.0 billion; Canterbury - NZ$0.9 billion; the rest of North Island (excludes Auckland, Waikato, and Wellington regions) - NZ$0.8 billion.
The actual value of residential building work was NZ$3.5 billion for the latest quarter - up 7.2 percent on year. The largest percentage increase was for Wellington region - up 24 percent on year.
The national value of residential building activity rose 0.2 percent on quarter. In Auckland, the rose 3.2 percent, and in Canterbury it fell 7.7 percent, coming off post-earthquake rebuild highs.
The actual value of non-residential building work was NZ$1.8 billion - up 6.6 percent on year.
Across the country, the non-residential building value fell a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent- up 2.3 percent in Auckland, and down 0.6 percent in Canterbury.
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