Building consents rise before lockdown

Building consents rise before lockdown
Stats NZ figures show new residential building consents rose a seasonally adjusted 4.7 percent to 3,395 in February, although permits for new houses were up 2.7 percent at 2,006. Annual residential consents rose 10.6 percent to 37,882 in the 12 months ended Feb. 29, the highest level in about 45 years. Non-residential consents  fell 19 percent to $481 million in February from the same month a year earlier, although that was a smaller decline than the 32.4 percent drop in floor area consented of 194,000 square metres. Annual non-r...