Non-residential building consents
Hospital consents continue to lead growth
3 Jul 2023
Our take on the latest Non-residential building consents (Mon 3 Jul 2023)
Value of non-res consents
$1,174m
In May 2023
Public consents up 35%pa in three months to May
Annual hospital consents reach $1,590m
The key numbers...
- Non-residential building consents to the value of $1,174m were issued in May 2023, up 13% from May last year. After accounting for seasonal patterns and stripping out building cost inflation, this result was the strongest in 12 months.
- There was $224m of hospital consents in May, with consents up 184%pa over the three months to May 2023. Boosting the consent total in May were a $112m consent as part of Dunedin Hospital and a $29m consent for a mental health facility in Rotorua.
- Retail consents totalled $185m in May and grew by 55%pa over the three months to May. Activity was bolstered by a $72m consent for part of Auckland Airport’s 120-store shopping centre and $36m as part of IKEA’s new three-storey building in Mt Wellington.
- Education consents totalled $229m in May, boosted by a $127m consent for a building at the University of Otago campus in Christchurch.
- The Canterbury and Waikato regions continued to drive growth in overall consent values, lifting by $352m and $262m respectively over the year to May 2023.
- The value of private consents fell 1%pa over the three months to May, the first negative three-month result since November 2021. However, public consents have gained further momentum, growing 35%pa over the three months to May.
Public consents driving growth
Annual running total, $m
...and our reaction
- Continually subdued private consents suggest that high interest rates are having the desired effect of limiting investment. The stronger retail result in the latest month is largely a result of two specific projects, rather than any indication of a widespread pick-up in retail confidence or investment.
- Strength in health infrastructure investment was maintained in May. The value of hospital consents is expected to peak in late 2023, and flatten out over the medium-term as large projects come to completion.
- ANZ Business Outlook’s figures indicated the commercial construction confidence was positive in June after eight months of consistently negative results. Although we estimate that three-month annual growth in the volume of consents remains relatively subdued, at 2.3%, consents are likely to be ahead of our expectations for the June quarter, indicating that the pipeline of activity is still expanding.
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 2025
Office 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