Building intentions point to elevated activity for next few years

Building intentions point to elevated activity for next few years
Paul McBeth
Economists expect construction activity to remain elevated for at least the next couple of years as cheap finance, recovering house prices, and a still-expanding population support demand for new buildings. New residential building consents decreased 1.1 percent in October, less than some economists had expected after a 7.4 percent jump in the prior month. At 3,406, permits for new homes were up 16.4 percent from October last year, reflecting double-digit growth in demand for apartments, retirement village units, townhouses, flats and unit...

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