NZ housing consents lowest in 20 years

For the year ended December 2008, the value of consents issued for residential buildings fell $NZ1.5 billion ($A1.18 billion) (20 per cent), while the value for non-residential buildings rose $NZ322 million ($A254.13 million) (7.7 per cent), compared with the year ended December 2007.
Monthly data for December showed the value of consents issued for all buildings [...]