Non-residential building consents
Large government facility masks continued non-res weakness
14 Jan 2026
Our take on the latest Non-residential building consents (Wed 14 Jan 2026)
Value of non-res consents
$789m
In November 2025
Total consents down 11% from November 2024
Factory building weak outside MPI's $193m consent
The key numbers...
- Non-residential consent values totalled $789m in November 2025, which was on par with October’s result after seasonal adjustment. However, the figure was 11% lower than total consents issued a year earlier in November 2024.
- This November’s result was also boosted by a $193m consent as part of the Ministry for Primary Industries’ new Plant Health and Environment Capability facility in Auckland. Stripping this large consent out of the data shows a 33% fall in underlying consent values from a year earlier.
- Private sector activity was particularly weak in November, down by $181m (31%) from November 2024. The biggest contributors to this decline came from offices and storage buildings.
- Offices were dragged lower by a $140m reduction in consents in Wellington City from a year earlier, while there were falls in storage building consents in Palmerston North and Christchurch of $59m and $15m respectively. After stripping out building cost inflation, November was the weakest month for storage building consents in almost five years.
- Weaker underlying factory building was masked by the large consent noted above. Falls of up to $31m in factory consents compared with November 2024 were recorded in each of Upper Harbour, Ōrākei, Christchurch, Selwyn, and Ashburton.
Private sector consents continue to soften
Non-residential consents, annual running totals, $m
...and our reaction
- Surveyed business investment intentions remain buoyant, but prolonged weak economic conditions throughout 2025 are still weighing on non-residential construction investment intentions by the private sector. Rising vacancy rates across commercial, retail, and industrial buildings are limiting the need for new space to be developed. The volume of private sector consents in November was the weakest in 2025 and the fourth lowest for any month since mid-2017.
- Declines in public sector activity have moderated, but a limited number of large projects suggests that the base of underlying work remains thin. Hospital consents over the three months to November were down 39% from a year earlier, with a 17% fall in social consents over the same period. A few better months for education consents have led to a 55%pa rise.
- The biggest regional declines in consent volumes over the year to November 2025 have occurred in Otago and Canterbury. These falls point towards a different regional dynamic in non-residential building than we are seeing in many other indicators, where signs of a recovery are being led by the middle and lower South Island.
Latest updates
Premium
Non-residential building consents
Non-res consents hold steady in January
Tue 3 Mar 2026
Monthly
$607m Value of non-res consents in January 2026
$82m Office consents from January 2025Provincial areas outperforming urban centresPremium
Non-residential building consents
A weak end to 2025 for non-residential consents
Tue 3 Feb 2026
Monthly
$584m Value of non-res consents in December 2025
Non-residential consents weakest month since Dec 2024 (seas adj)
11% Public sector consents from the December 2024 quarterNon-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 2024Education consents up to $232m