Our take on the latest Non-residential building consents (Mon 13 Jan 2025)
Value of non-res consents
$883m
In November 2024
Office consents total $234m in November
Factory consents total $149m in November
The key numbers...
- Non-residential building in November recorded its second consecutive strong month, with the $883m total value of consents up 16% from November 2023.
- Office consents made the biggest contribution to the increase from a year earlier, rising by $83m. There was an $88m lift in office consents in Wellington City, underpinned by a large consent for the Museum Street building behind Parliament, and there was a $38m increase in office consents in Māngere-Ōtāhuhu as well.
- Other building types recording sizable increases included education (up $52m to $141m, underpinned by lifts in Howick and Christchurch), factories (up $47m to $149m, with lifts across Christchurch, Ashburton, and Selwyn), and social buildings (up $21m to $54m, due to a rise in Tauranga).
- Palmerston North also recorded its third-strongest month for non-residential consents on record (after adjusting for building cost inflation). Activity in the city totalled $73m, underpinned by $64m of storage building consents.
- After a very strong month in October, hospital building was less positive in November, with the $43m of consents down $64m from November 2023. Large declines in hospital consents were recorded in Queenstown-Lakes, Howick, and Franklin.
Private sector consents fading
Non-residential consents, year-end % changes
...and our reaction
- The recent rally in non-residential consents is in line with our expectations for late 2024, with enough previously signalled projects in the pipeline to cause a temporary upturn in consents in the latter part of last year.
- Although it is not apparent from the breakdown of the building types above, public sector activity has been a key driver of the strength, with year-end growth in the volume of public sector consents reaching a 26-month high of 3.6%pa. In contrast, private sector work remains subdued, with the annual volume of consents down 8.6% from a year ago.
- We expect the effects of weak economic conditions last year to continue to weigh on non-residential consents throughout 2025, with weaker activity re-emerging in coming months. Tight fiscal conditions are also likely to limit further increases in public sector activity.
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