Our take on the latest Non-residential building consents (Tue 3 Mar 2026)
Value of non-res consents
Office consents
Provincial areas
$607m
$82m
In January 2026
From January 2025
Outperforming urban centres
The key numbers...
- Non-residential building had a steady start to 2026, with the value of consents in January up 2.2% from December 2025 (seasonally adjusted) and 4.5% from a year earlier.
- At $137m for the month, office consents were above $100m for the fifth consecutive month, for the first time since mid-2023. Māngere-Ōtāhuhu was a key contributor to strength in January, with $50m of office consents.
- However, Auckland’s consents were down 11% ($26m) from January last year, with weaker education consent levels in Howick (down $27m) and Upper Harbour (down $15m) dragging the region’s total lower.
- Around the rest of the country, consent levels were relatively strong in Manawatū-Whanganui, due to $19m of hospital consents in Palmerston North, and Hawke’s Bay, boosted by $15m of office consents in Hastings.
...and our reaction
- Today’s consent numbers continue a trend of stabilising activity that has prevailed throughout most of the last year, following substantial declines during the second half of 2023 and 2024.
- After adjusting for building cost inflation, the annual total of public sector consents is now at its highest level in almost two years, but private sector activity continues to languish, in line with patchy economic conditions.
- Year-end growth in consent volumes is currently strongest in Marlborough (56%), Southland (28%), Waikato (24%), and Manawatū-Whanganui (21%), partly reflecting the provincial nature of the broader economic recovery, as well as the influence that major public sector projects can have on non-residential building in regional areas.
Latest updates
Premium
Non-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 2025Premium
Non-residential building consents
Non-res consents slightly softer, but the outlook is deteriorating
Wed 1 Apr 2026
Monthly
$693m Value of non-res consents in February 2026
+0.7% Annual consents from February 202521% Public sector consents from February 2025Non-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 quarter