Non-residential building consents
Building intentions steady, despite lockdown
30 Sept 2021
Our take on the latest Non-residential building consents (Thu 30 Sept 2021)
Value of non-res consents
$784m
In August 2021
Consents up 17%pa in August
Private sector consents up 27%pa in August
The key numbers...
- The value of non-residential consents grew by 17%pa in August to $784m.
- Growth in consent values came from private sector consents, which were up by 27%pa, compared with a 16% fall in public sector consents.
- Despite lockdown, Auckland had $380m worth of non-residential consents, which was 40% of the total non-residential consent value.
- The largest consent values by type were storage ($134m), factories ($126m), and hospitals ($108m).
Private consents take up the slack
Annual running total, $m
...and our reaction
- It was a strong month for non-residential consents, with strength in private sector consents making up for public sector consents that have come off the boil in recent months.
- Building intentions are doing well across non-tourism-related build types with only retail, hostel, and hotel consent values not sitting above pre-pandemic levels over the last three months.
- With not much else going on in Auckland there is plenty of time to process consents. The strong result is perhaps more reflective of conditions prior to the lockdown, and September consent data might show more of a divergence between Auckland and the rest of the country. However, ANZ’s Business Outlook shows business confidence is still relatively strong, even in Auckland.
- We are cautious that an already stretched building pipeline will be under more pressure as consents mount up, lockdowns delay progress, and building costs rise.
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