NZ building consents fall 7.2% in December, reflecting drop in apartments

NZ building consents fall 7.2% in December, reflecting drop in apartments
Rebecca Howard
By Rebecca Howard Feb. 9 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand's residential building consents fell in December, mainly due to a drop in apartment consents. Seasonally adjusted dwelling consents declined 7.2 percent to 2,215 in December after falling 9.6 percent in November, Statistics New Zealand said. Seasonally adjusted permits for new houses, however, rose 3.5 percent to 1,696 following a 7.7 percent slide in November.  Consents fell sharply on the month in Auckland to 740 versus 1,156 in November. Record net migration is putting pressure o...