Non-residential building consents

Underlying non-residential consent trend still soft

3 Nov 2025
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Matthew Allman

Our take on the latest Non-residential building consents (Mon 3 Nov 2025)

Value of non-res consents
$947m
In September 2025
Total consents up 47% from September 2024
$352m office consent in Māngere-Ōtāhuhu

The key numbers...

  • The monthly value of non-residential consents totalled $947m in September, up 47% from September 2024 and, after seasonal adjustment, the strongest monthly result since August 2024. 
  • September’s result was boosted by a $352m office consent (which includes public transport buildings) in Māngere-Ōtāhuhu in Auckland, likely related to Auckland Airport’s new domestic terminal building. Office consents totalled $402m in September, the highest monthly total since May 2022 after adjusting for building cost inflation.
  • Education consents totalled $116m, up $60m from the same month in 2024. The annual total of education consents of almost $1.3b was $226m higher in the year to September 2024. 
  • Hospital and social building consents remain the largest contributors to the annual decline, down 34% and 24% respectively compared to the year to September 2024. Weakness in consents across these two building types will be major contributors to a continued decline in non-residential building activity over the next 12 months.

Trend in non-res consents still rather soft

Quarterly non-res consents, less large consents (>$100m)
5479

...and our reaction

  • The underlying trend in non-residential consents remains soft. After stripping out the large $352m consent for the new terminal building at Auckland Airport, the monthly total of $595m is in-line with recent monthly totals. 
  • The trend in private building consents remains weak, with the annual total down $586m from a year ago to $6.2b, despite the large $352m consent boosting private activity in September. Public consents were $412m higher than a year ago, totalling $2.7b over the year to September. However, strong months in October and November 2024 will fall out of the total in coming months, meaning that public consents are likely to return to annual declines. 
  • The annual total of consents in Northland continued to fall in September and is now at just $162m, the lowest total since January 2018 after adjusting for building cost inflation.
  • The national annual total fell to $8.7b in August but rose to $9.0b in September. In 2025, the annual total has fluctuated between $8.7b and $9.0b, considerably below the 2023 peak of $10b, even before adjusting for building cost inflation.

Latest updates

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Non-residential building consents

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Tue 3 Feb 2026
Monthly
$584m Value of non-res consents in December 2025
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Non-residential building consents

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Wed 14 Jan 2026
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$789m Value of non-res consents in November 2025
Total consents down 11% from November 2024
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Non-residential building consents

Softness in non-res consents takes a pause

Mon 1 Dec 2025
Monthly
$872m Value of non-res consents in October 2025
Total consents down 6.7% from October 2024
Education consents up to $232m