The seasonally adjusted volume of building work in New Zealand was $7.4 billion in the December 2024 quarter, down 4.4 percent compared with the September 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today.
"There has been a downward trend in building activity volume since the most recent peak in the September 2022 quarter," economic indicators spokesperson Michael Heslop said.
Residential building work fell 4.9 percent to $4.5 billion and non-residential building work fell 3.1 percent to $2.8 billion (seasonally adjusted) in the final quarter of 2024.
"Residential building activity volume reached its lowest level in over four years, in seasonally adjusted terms," Heslop said.
Seasonally adjusted volume estimates remove the effects of price changes and typical seasonal patterns.
"The fall in residential building activity has been driven by a decrease in new homes consented over the last two and a half years," Heslop said.
The annual number of new homes consented peaked in mid-2022 and has been decreasing since then. Building consents are an early indicator of planned building activity.
Building consents issued has more information on the number of new homes consented.
| Quarter | Total | Residential | Non-residential |
| Dec-19 | 8070767000 | 5316194000 | 2746118000 |
| Mar-20 | 7681333000 | 5036598000 | 2634630000 |
| Jun-20 | 6265942000 | 4226705000 | 2043024000 |
| Sep-20 | 8231778000 | 5574957000 | 2673519000 |
| Dec-20 | 8273992000 | 5747729000 | 2511996000 |
| Mar-21 | 8615700000 | 5972441000 | 2636519000 |
| Jun-21 | 8426453000 | 5886129000 | 2554235000 |
| Sep-21 | 7691001000 | 5324565000 | 2364852000 |
| Dec-21 | 8373920000 | 5716361000 | 2648664000 |
| Mar-22 | 8414477000 | 5849428000 | 2567925000 |
| Jun-22 | 8497800000 | 5871966000 | 2641230000 |
| Sep-22 | 8999316000 | 6061219000 | 2920090000 |
| Dec-22 | 8751477000 | 5876588000 | 2873164000 |
| Mar-23 | 8634813000 | 5674242000 | 2971755000 |
| Jun-23 | 8719328000 | 5672328000 | 3060976000 |
| Sep-23 | 8575141000 | 5568164000 | 2977213000 |
| Dec-23 | 8548830000 | 5416462000 | 3137659000 |
| Mar-24 | 8209688000 | 5198063000 | 3025675000 |
| Jun-24 | 7961721000 | 4940189000 | 3026224000 |
| Sep-24 | 7719673000 | 4769395000 | 2931231000 |
| Dec-24 | 7376799000 | 4535796000 | 2839562000 |
Annual value of building work down 6.4 percent
The value of building work put in place was $34 billion in the year ended December 2024, down 6.4 percent from the year ended December 2023.
Value estimates of building work put in place, in contrast to volume estimates, include changes to building costs over time (such as material and labour costs).
The value of residential building work was down 10 percent to $21 billion in the year ended December 2024 compared with the year ended December 2023.
The value of non-residential building work was up 0.6 percent to $13 billion over the same period.
