Our take on the latest Building work put in place (Fri 7 Jun 2019)
Non-residential construction rose 17%pa
Auckland non-residential building soared 43%pa
Shop construction up 84%pa
The key numbers...
- Stronger-than-expected residential and non-residential construction suggests the building industry is pushing past capacity constraints and benefiting from more resources, including labour, becoming available.
- Commercial building activity in Auckland, covering both offices and shops, beat our forecasts by 18%pa for the quarter, indicating significant progress is being made on the major projects that are underway in the city.
- Weaker-than-expected construction in Canterbury was primarily due to education building, with Lincoln University’s $206m joint facility with AgResearch no longer going ahead.
Work put in place (seas adj)
Quarterly % changes, Sept 1999 prices
...and our reaction
- The nationwide volume of construction work being put in place continued the previous quarter’s momentum, with growth accelerating from 4.1% to 11%pa in March, the fastest growth rate since 2016.
- Most of the growth came from the booming non-residential construction industry, with activity up 17%pa in the March 2019 quarter. Residential construction showed strength as well, up by 7.8%pa.
- Non-residential construction in the North Island, excluding Wellington, was particularly strong. The values of activity in Auckland, Waikato, and the rest of the North Island excluding Wellington were up 43%pa, 56%pa and 41%pa respectively for the March 2019 quarter, but Wellington slumped 21%pa.
- The fastest growth by non-residential building was for shops (up 84%pa), warehouses (64%) and accommodation (48%pa).
Latest updates
Premium
Building work put in place
Construction activity at a 10-year low
Thu 4 Jun 2026
Quarterly
13% Non-residential activity in March 2026 from March 2025
3.9% Residential activity from March 2025
Total building activity at its lowest level (excl lockdowns) since 2015Premium
Building work put in place
Non-residential work hammered as residential softens further
Thu 5 Mar 2026
Quarterly
6.5% Non-residential activity from September 2025 (sa)1.1% Residential activity from September 2025 (sa)Total building activity at its lowest level (excl lockdowns) since 2015Building work put in place
Non-residential activity continues to decline
Thu 4 Dec 2025
Quarterly
Residential volumes up 3.3% in September from June 2025 (sa)Non-residential volumes down 1.3% in September from June 2025 (sa)Total quarterly activity now down 5.3% from September 2024Building work put in place
Lower residential activity leads construction decline
Thu 4 Sept 2025
Quarterly
Residential volumes down 2.9% in June from March 2025 (sa)Non-residential volumes down 0.4% in June from March 2025 (sa)Total quarterly activity now down 9.6% from June 2024