Our take on the latest Building work put in place (Fri 4 Jun 2021)
Total construction activity up 9.2%pa
Residential construction up 4.3% (sa)
Non-res construction up 2.6% (sa)
The key numbers...
- Total building activity grew by 9.2%pa in the March quarter or 3.7% from the December 2020 quarter (seasonally adjusted).
- Residential building activity provided a strong boost, with volumes up 17%pa, surpassing our forecast growth of 6.7%pa.
- Non-residential volumes were down 2.1%pa from a year ago, but up 2.6% from the December quarter (seasonally adjusted). Although it was weaker than residential activity, non-residential work surpassed our forecast of a 12%pa decline.
- Every region showed solid growth in the value of residential building, ranging from 30%pa for Wellington to 5.8%pa for the South Island excluding Canterbury.
- It was a mixed bag for non-residential activity, with the values of social, cultural, and religious building, factories, and education building growing strongly at 23%, 19%, and 16%pa respectively. Office and commercial building saw large declines, down 31% and 21%pa respectively.
Booming residential building
Annual % change in the value of building
...and our reaction
- Construction is booming, particularly in the residential building space, following strong house price and consent growth over the past year.
- Residential building growth has been strongest in Wellington and Auckland, regions with the highest rents and house prices.
- Stronger-than-expected growth in construction suggests that the building industry has done well to expand capacity in recent quarters, coping with rising consent numbers while also working through the leftover projects from prior to lockdown.
- Strong consent growth and the ability to turn into builds is an encouraging sign for future activity, although mounting cost pressures and sketchy supply lines will make conditions challenging for developers.
- The strong decline in office and commercial building activity may be early warning signs of effects that increased working from home is having for demand for desk space. Rising vacancy rates in Auckland will exacerbate this effect.
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