Building activity flat in June quarter

The seasonally adjusted volume of building activity was $8.9 billion in the June 2023 quarter, down 0.1 percent compared with the March 2023 quarter, according to figures released by Stat NZ today.

The volume of residential building work was down 2.0 percent to $5.8 billion, while non-residential building work was up 3.7 percent to $3.1 billion over the same period.

"The June 2023 quarter marked the third quarter in a row where the volume of building work has fallen for residential buildings but risen for non-residential buildings," construction statistics manager Michael Heslop said.

"These contrasting movements led to overall building activity in the June 2023 quarter being relatively flat."

Volume estimates remove the effects of price changes and typical seasonal patterns.

Value of building work up 22 percent

The value of building work put in place was $37 billion in the year ended June 2023, up 22 percent compared with the year ended June 2022.

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).

In the past 12 months, residential construction costs increased by 7.8 percent and non-residential construction costs increased by 6.8 percent.

Business price indexes: June 2023 quarter has more information.

Rise in value of non-residential building work

The value of non-residential building activity was up 28 percent in the year ended June 2023 compared with the year ended June 2022.

The building types that contributed most to this increase were:

• storage buildings, at $1.9 billion, up 49 percent
• offices, administration, and public transport buildings at $2.0 billion, up 44 percent
• education buildings at $2.0 billion, up 21 percent.