WELLINGTON, July 30 (Reuters) - The number of new dwelling consents approved in New Zealand fell in June as fewer houses, apartments, and retirement village units were authorised, official data showed on Thursday.
The number of consents fell a seasonally adjusted 4.1 percent compared with no change in May, Statistics New Zealand reported.
Excluding apartments, flats, and retirement village units the number of consents for new houses was down 0.4 percent, after a 2.5 percent rise in the previous month.
Building consents were 2.0 percent higher than the same month a year ago, while the number of new consents for the year ended June was up 7.9 percent from the previous 12 months.
Auckland, where there is a significant housing shortage, and the Canterbury region, where earthquake rebuilding projects are underway, accounted for 61 percent of the number of consents issued nationwide.
The unadjusted value of all building work consented for the month was NZ$1.3 billion ($864.63 million) of which residential work accounted for 64 percent. Offices, shops, and community buildings made up most of the non-residential consents.
($1 = 1.5035 New Zealand dollars)