Building work on non-residential buildings, especially in Auckland, drove the overall construction volume growth in the December 2018 quarter, Stats NZ said today.
Nationally, the total volume of building activity increased a seasonally adjusted 2.7 percent in the latest quarter – when compared with the September 2018 quarter. This was driven by more non-residential construction (including work on shopping malls and storage buildings), which was up 5.0 percent. This was the biggest quarterly increase in almost three years (since the March 2016 quarter).
| Quarter | Residential buildings | Non-residential buildings |
| Mar-16 | 6.2 | 7.6 |
| Jun-16 | 5.8 | 4.5 |
| Sep-16 | 1.3 | 0.1 |
| Dec-16 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| Mar-17 | -0.2 | -5.4 |
| Jun-17 | -0.2 | -0.7 |
| Sep-17 | 3.9 | 1 |
| Dec-17 | -0.9 | 2.9 |
| Mar-18 | -0.3 | -0.8 |
| Jun-18 | 0.7 | 1.1 |
| Sep-18 | 1.3 | 0.2 |
| Dec-18 | 1.2 | 5 |
"Growth in commercial construction activity was driven by more work on shops and accommodation buildings, particularly in Auckland," construction statistics manager Melissa McKenzie said.
The value of non-residential building in Auckland was up almost 10 percent in the December 2018 quarter, after adjusting for typical seasonal patterns. This change in value reflected changes in both the volume and the costs of construction.
Nationally, non-residential construction prices rose 1.2 percent in the December 2018 quarter, as measured by the capital goods price index.
In the 2018 calendar year, construction of accommodation buildings, including hotels, motels, boarding houses, and prisons, in Auckland was up $212 million, 78 percent more than for the 2017 year.
In Auckland, construction of shops, including shopping malls, restaurants, and bars, was up $143 million (52 percent) in 2018.
| Building type | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| Offices | 362252000 | 665975000 | 667009000 | 591907000 |
| Education | 297290000 | 395048000 | 503061000 | 522549000 |
| Accommodation | 125059000 | 239400000 | 273319000 | 485275000 |
| Shops | 323070000 | 314950000 | 276313000 | 418841000 |
| Storage | 258122000 | 307187000 | 314107000 | 378158000 |
| Factories | 106736000 | 192041000 | 168487000 | 248758000 |
| Social | 145358000 | 127536000 | 183330000 | 232036000 |
| Health | 132172000 | 173492000 | 178241000 | 192731000 |
| Farm | 29793000 | 30733000 | 30208000 | 27141000 |
Residential growth continues
Nationally, in the December 2018 quarter the volume of residential work rose a seasonally adjusted 1.2 percent from the September quarter. This was in line with the 1.3 percent growth in the September 2018 quarter.
Residential building work accounts for about 60 percent of the total building activity volume; the balance is in non-residential work.
