Non-residential building volume slows again
The volume of construction work on shops, health
buildings, factories, and other non-residential buildings
fell in the December 2019 quarter compared with the
September quarter, following recent volatility, Stats NZ
said today.
After accounting for typical seasonal patterns and higher construction costs, non-residential building activity volume fell 3.6 percent in the December 2019 quarter. This followed a 2.7 percent rise in the September quarter, and a 4.6 percent fall in the June quarter.
“Non-residential building activity can flip-flop from
quarter to quarter, partly reflecting large commercial
projects starting, ending, and some pausing during
construction,” construction indicators manager Melissa
McKenzie said.
Overall building volume fell 0.8 percent in the December 2019 quarter, with residential growth (up 1.2 percent) partly off-setting the fall in non-residential work.
The volume of building work remains at
historically high levels and has been generally increasing
since 2012. Activity was originally boosted by the
Canterbury earthquake rebuild, and more recently by
developments in Auckland.
Residential building value exceeds $4 billion
“Overall building activity was running at high levels during 2019, with over $4 billion of residential work in each of the latest two quarters. On top of this, there was nearly $2.4 billion of commercial building work in the December 2019 quarter,” Ms McKenzie said.
Residential building value rose 7.3 percent in the December 2019 quarter, and non-residential rose 8.9 percent, compared with the same quarter a year ago.
Some of the building value increase is due to price inflation in the construction sector, with a 3.0 percent rise in residential building prices in the December 2019 year, and non-residential building prices up 5.4 percent over the same period.
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• Visit Value of building work put in place:
December 2019 quarter
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