Building work put in place

Strong consents flowing through to residential building activity

6 Sept 2021
Paul Barkle's-profile-photo
Paul Barkle

Our take on the latest Building work put in place (Mon 6 Sept 2021)

Total construction activity up 40%pa
Residential construction up 4.2% (sa)
Non-res construction down 1.5% (sa)

The key numbers...

  • Total building construction activity in the June quarter was sitting 40%pa higher than through lockdown last year. Activity in June was up 2.0% from March (seasonally adjusted). 
  • Residential building activity in June was up 48%pa from the year prior and grew 4.2% from March (seasonally adjusted). Growth in activity was strong across the whole country.
  • Non-residential building was weak in comparison, growing 28%pa from lockdown a year ago, and down 1.5% from March (seasonally adjusted).
  • The weakness in non-residential building was largely due to Auckland, where activity was up only 6.1%pa when compared to the level of activity undertaken in Level 4 lockdown last year.

Work put in place

Sept 1999 prices, $m
4021

...and our reaction

  • Total construction activity was strong in the June quarter, with activity continuing its growth from March due to buoyant residential building.
  • Strong residential building construction is too be expected, with consents currently sitting at record highs and rapid house price growth encouraging new builds.
  • However, we are taking the residential construction numbers with a pinch of salt, as residential building numbers rely on a high level of statistical modelling which does not take fully into account the capacity constraints in the industry.
  • Supply chain disruptions and a tight labour market are making further growth in building construction difficult as firms struggle to find materials and labour. These capacity constraints are evident in the rapidly growing building costs across both residential and non-residential building. 
  • The current lockdown will heavily affect September quarter building work put in place, but we expect activity will rapidly bounce back to normal levels as we drop back down the alert levels.

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 2015
Premium
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 2015
Building 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 2024
Building 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