Our take on the latest Non-residential building consents (Thu 4 Feb 2021)
Value of non-res consents
$686m
In December 2020
Hospital consents up $111m
Public consents up 85%pa in December
The key numbers...
- The $686m total of non-residential consents in December was up 16% from December 2019.
- The last two strong months have helped push consents in the December quarter back in the black, up by 2.2%pa.
- Hospital building consents in December were up $111m (753%) from a year ago, while all other non-residential consents were down by $14m.
- The biggest decline in non-residential consents in December was for accommodation buildings (down $90m), and social, cultural, and religious and retail consents were also weak, down $54m (-68%pa) and $31m (-34%pa) respectively.
- Driven by the consent of a specialist mental health unit, growth was solid in Canterbury, with total consent values in the region up by $20m (18%pa).
- Auckland also benefited from the strength in hospital consents, with a hospital consent in Takapuna offsetting wider weakness, helping approvals in the region rise $9.1m (4%pa).
Value of consents granted
Year-end % change
...and our reaction
- The unequal impact of COVID-19 remains apparent in non-residential building consents, with those build types most affected by the lack of international tourism continuing to show weakness (excluding the outlier in hotel consents in November).
- Furthermore, the acceleration in the shift to online shopping is apparent, as storage and distribution centres show strength, while retail consents have been weak.
- A swathe of positive economic indicators in the last few months includes GDP, inflation, and the unemployment rate, which all show an economy rebounding from COVID-19.
- These indicators should improve business confidence further and help lift business investment intentions.
Latest updates
Premium
Non-residential building consents
Warehouses prevent further non-res falls in June
Mon 3 Aug 2026
Monthly
$701m Value of non-res consents in June 2026
7.4% Total non-res consents from May 2026 (seas adj)37%pa Warehouse consents from June 2025Premium
Non-residential building consents
Non-res consents weaker still in May
Thu 2 Jul 2026
Monthly
$789m Value of non-res consents in May 2026
19% Monthly consents from May 202549% Public sector consents from May 2025Non-residential building consents
Non-res consents mostly softer in April
Wed 3 Jun 2026
Monthly
$655m Value of non-res consents in April 2026
15% Monthly consents from April 2025Office and education consents at lowest monthly levels in 5-6 yearsNon-residential building consents
Consents strong in March, but shadow of conflict looms
Fri 1 May 2026
Monthly
$862m Value of non-res consents in March 2026
15% Monthly consents from Mar 2025$119m Hostel consents from Mar 2025