NZ home building consents fall 7.1% in May, led by drop in apartments

NZ home building consents fall 7.1% in May, led by drop in apartments
By Hannah Lynch June 29 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand home building consents declined in May, led by a drop in approvals for apartments, even as earthquake-related consents reached their second-highest monthly total since the Canterbury quakes began in September 2010. Building consents including apartments fell a seasonally adjusted 7.1 percent to 1,304 in May from a month earlier, according to Statistics New Zealand. Excluding apartments, there was a 0.4 percent fall to 1,372. Earthquake-related building consents in Canterbury totaled $47 m...