Our take on the latest Non-residential building consents (Wed 3 Jun 2026)
Value of non-res consents
Monthly consents
Office and education consents
$655m
15%
In April 2026
From April 2025
At lowest monthly levels in 5-6 years
The key numbers...
- The total value of non-residential consents issued in April was down 15% from a year earlier, although this fall was amplified by a large $130m consent in the April 2025 result. Excluding this large consent, the April 2026 result was up 2.6% from April 2025.
- Office consents were down by $143m from a year earlier, with the large consent for Auckland Airport’s domestic terminal falling out of the numbers. After adjusting for building cost inflation, the April 2026 result was the weakest for office consents in five years.
- Education, retail, factory, and hospital building consents are all down by between $25m and $55m from a year ago. The volume of education consents dropped to a six-year low, due to sizable declines in Ōrākei, Howick, and Invercargill. The volume of retail consents was at its lowest since June 2024, due to falls in Waitematā and Henderson-Massey.
- There was $108m of hotel consents issued in April, marking the strongest volume of consents for this build type in 5½ years. Key contributors to growth were Queenstown-Lakes ($46m), Marlborough ($34m), Wellington City ($14m), and Mackenzie ($11m). Hostel consents totalling $37m in Hastings also boosted accommodation building.
...and our reaction
- April’s result continues the broad trend of stability that has been observed in non-residential consents since February last year. However, there is still a degree of softness in the numbers, with April’s seasonally adjusted total the lowest recorded in 2026. Totals for both public and private sector consents over the last three months are also down from a year ago.
- We expect private sector consents to remain under pressure throughout 2026 as weaker demand conditions see projects deferred. Nevertheless, investment intention’s in ANZ’s May Business Outlook rebounded by six percentage points, despite the continuing Middle East conflict. They are in line with the long-term average, but still 16 points below their January level.
- Prospects for public sector activity are less negative, with the government’s recent Budget confirming its focus on capital spending, including hospitals, schools and prisons. We expect work at Christchurch Men’s Prison to be a significant positive contributor to consents from later this year.
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
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