+17.9% m/m (vs. prior -18.2%)

A bounce back from February, and then some …. the monthly number of new homes approved for building hit a record high in March 2021.

Says the Stats bureau in NZ:

• The monthly number of new homes consented in March 2021 was 4,128, which is the highest for the series, surpassing the October 1973 figure of 4,081. 
• driven by a record-breaking month for both stand-alone houses (2,438) and townhouses, flats, and units (1,243)
• suggests that there is a large amount of residential work in the pipeline

NZD little changed, circa 0.7218