Posted by Blogger Name. Category:
ASB Bank
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Canterbury
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Cantometer
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Christchurch earthquake
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Christchurch rebuild
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Economic growth
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Good news
We've been meaning to blog this story for a few days, but other things (like work) kept getting in the way. We hate it when that happens!
Anyway; we digress. The Press reported early in the week of a story that should warm the hearts of all Cantabrians, and all New Zealanders; check this out:
Canterbury economic activity is at its highest level, with construction starting to roll, a bank survey says.
A monthly ASB "Cantometer" index for June, released today, showed the index hit a new all-time high of 1.53, compared to the previous high of 1.46 in April.
ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley said the largest improvement in recent data was a first-quarter survey of building work, which showed a strong increase in regional construction.
"Residential construction increased 31 per cent in Canterbury over Q1 (in value terms), while non-residential construction was up 16 per cent."
The index measure is based on five categories - construction, housing, employment, retail spending, and a population-based "miscellaneous" sub-category.
Construction remains the big driver for the Cantometer, with the sub-index measuring 4.1 for June.
The wider index was created as a watch mechanism to check the activity in Canterbury now, compared with before the earthquakes in 2010 and 2011.
Tuffley said clearly the rebuild continued to gather momentum, and recent building-consents data pointed to even stronger activity over coming months.
That is fantastic news. In fact it's so good that it bears repeating. Economic activity in Canterbury is at its highest ever level.
And it's not just construction activity that is causing this record expansion:
Other sectors measured in the Cantometer also stood out.
"The encouraging data is not solely construction-related," Tuffley said.
"Over the last year, retail spending has risen by 7.9 per cent in Christchurch - far outstripping the 3.5 per cent increase nationally."
Meanwhile, the latest reading of regional consumer confidence dipped very slightly but was still the second-highest since the earthquakes.
Canterbury's tourism industry also continued to rebound.
Guest nights figures were continuing to climb steadily as lost accommodation capacity was restored.
Christchurch Airport was now the country's fastest growing point of entry for Chinese visitors, a vital growth market, he said.
Elsewhere, the housing sub-index continues to soften gradually. House sales throughout the country had fallen since the RBNZ's mortgage lending restrictions came into effect in October 2013.
We were last in Christchurch a month ago, and really noticed the surge of commercial construction, especially around the city fringe. Blenheim Road and Moorhouse Avenue are two major thoroughfares, and every time we visit Christchurch there are new buildings completed there, with more projects underway. We didn't venture much within the Four Avenues on this occasion, but the last time we were down in April, there seemed to be plenty of construction underway.
And as if all that wasn't good enough news, there's a final layer of icing on the cake:
The improvement seen in the Canterbury economy is showing no sign of slowing down, Tuffley said.
"The rebuild momentum has taken longer to kick in than initially expected, but recent construction data shows that the ball has really started rolling now," he said.
"This is working to create a healthy economic environment, with very low unemployment and strong growth in spending flowing through to benefit other sectors of the economy."
With building work likely to continue accelerating for several years yet, the outlook was very encouraging, the survey said.
No one would suggest that everything in Christchurch is sweetness and light. Canterbury faced a natural disaster of a magnitude unlike anything ever seen before in New Zealand, and plenty of mistakes have been made along the way as agencies struggled to cope with the sheer scale of the destruction.
But initial fears that Christchurch was in terminal decline have long since been cast aside. A new, vibrant Christchurch is emerging from the dust and rubble of September 2010 and February 2011. Having been regular visitors to the city throughout that period, we have watched the transformation of the city with much interest.
The New Christchurch is going to be a fantastic, modern city. But what will make it special is the resolve of those who bore the brunt of everything that Mother Nature threw at Canterbury, their refusal to give up, and their determination.
Knox Presbyterian Church became one of the most-photographed buildings during the earthquakes, and the intersection on which it is located was well-used by TV crews. Knox is presntly being rebuilt from the inside out, with the exterior of the church having been preserved. But it was also the site of a number of inspiring signs in the aftermath of the February 2011 'quake. This one epitomises the Canterbury spirit to us:
The quality of the photo isn't great, but the sign says "Broken but still beating. The heart of Christchurch is people like us." Kia kaha Christchurch; you deserve this good news.
