The seasonally adjusted volume of building work was $8.3 billion in the March 2024 quarter, down 4.0 percent compared with the December 2023 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today.
The seasonally adjusted volume of residential building work fell 4.8 percent to $5.2 billion and non-residential building work fell 2.8 percent to $3.0 billion over the same period.
"The total volume of building work in the March 2024 quarter was the lowest quarterly volume in the past two years," construction and property statistics manager Michael Heslop said.
Seasonally adjusted volume estimates remove the effects of price changes and typical seasonal patterns.
| Quarter | Total | Residential | Non-residential |
| Mar-19 | 8280025000 | 5385769000 | 2885536000 |
| Jun-19 | 8140441000 | 5339777000 | 2774384000 |
| Sep-19 | 8047322000 | 5250375000 | 2844106000 |
| Dec-19 | 8067456000 | 5310328000 | 2740592000 |
| Mar-20 | 7681552000 | 5037303000 | 2639390000 |
| Jun-20 | 6301748000 | 4227000000 | 2048732000 |
| Sep-20 | 8184726000 | 5582729000 | 2667946000 |
| Dec-20 | 8263025000 | 5734310000 | 2504211000 |
| Mar-21 | 8638609000 | 5978366000 | 2643388000 |
| Jun-21 | 8480165000 | 5886865000 | 2563416000 |
| Sep-21 | 7630594000 | 5336310000 | 2359017000 |
| Dec-21 | 8354389000 | 5691150000 | 2637358000 |
| Mar-22 | 8459697000 | 5862313000 | 2576838000 |
| Jun-22 | 8554685000 | 5874237000 | 2652680000 |
| Sep-22 | 8919450000 | 6079170000 | 2911471000 |
| Dec-22 | 8714539000 | 5837413000 | 2858578000 |
| Mar-23 | 8704210000 | 5695740000 | 2983903000 |
| Jun-23 | 8779750000 | 5673059000 | 3076550000 |
| Sep-23 | 8587410000 | 5672852000 | 2978615000 |
| Dec-23 | 8632784000 | 5506652000 | 3111445000 |
| Mar-24 | 8289734000 | 5244394000 | 3023590000 |
"The fall in building activity coincided with a 2.8 percent decrease in the retail sales volume of hardware and building supplies in the March 2024 quarter," Heslop said.
Retail trade survey: March 2024 quarter has more information on retail sales.
"The fall in residential building activity reflects the decreasing number of building consents for new homes in the construction pipeline."
The annual number of homes consented peaked in the year ended May 2022 and has been decreasing since then.
Building consents issued has more information on the number of new homes consented.
Annual value of building work up 3.8 percent
The value of building work put in place was $36 billion in the year ended March 2024, up 3.8 percent from the year ended March 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 annual value of building work in the year ended March 2024 was up, but this also includes the increase in construction costs over this period," Heslop said.
In the past 12 months, residential construction costs increased by 3.9 percent and non-residential costs increased by 4.6 percent.
Business price indexes: March 2024 has more information on the capital goods price index.
