Rising building costs, falling house prices: normally a recipe for a construction downturn

In a small spot of relief for those people looking to embark on a residential construction project, residential building cost inflation eased to an 18-month low of 5.3%pa in the September quarter. Similar data from the consumers price index shows that the cooling was most marked in Auckland, with annual cost inflation in the region pulling back from 8.1% to 6.8%pa.