Interest.co.nz's latest Commercial Building Consent Analysis Table updates suggest an overall slowdown in the pipeline of work for commercial building projects, although there are significant differences by building type and location.
The amount of new office space being consented is declining while consents for new retail premises held up surprisingly well in the second quarter (Q2).
New warehouse projects are showing signs of finally being in decline after many years of solid growth, but consents for factories and industrial buildings remain solid.
New office consents.
There was a significant decline in the amount of new office space consented in Auckland and the Waikato in the second quarter of this year, while consents for new office space in Canterbury headed skywards.
Consents were lodged for just 4297 square metres (sqm) of new office space in Auckland in Q2 this year, down from more than 50,000 sqm in each of the previous two quarters.
And they will likely be smaller projects, with the average size of the work consented being just 239 sqm in Q2, compared to an average of more than 4000 sqm in Q1.
New office construction appears to also be slowing in the Waikato, where just two consents for new office space were lodged in Q2 this year, the lowest number since interest.co.nz began collating the figures in 2010.
And together those two consents would add just 173 sqm of new office space to the region, also a record low.
Canterbury was easily the most buoyant of the main centres on the office front, with 11,494 sqm of new office space consented in Q2 this year, which was the most office space consented in the region in any quarter since Q3 2018.
The average consented build cost of $4.07 million and average floor area 1277 sqm were also both the highest they have been in Canetrbury since Q3 2018.
Across the entire country, 35,912 sqm of new office space was consented in Q2 this year, with projects having an average size of 589sqm, and an average consented build cost of just over $3.3 million.
The full building consent analysis tables for new office space in Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Wellington, Canterbury, Otago and nationally, are available here.
New retail premises
Consents for new retail premises were surprisingly perky in Q2 this year given the reported state of retail sales.
The number of consents for retail premises as well as the total amount of new space consented, the average value and average floor area per consent were all at a 12 month high nationally in Q2.
That appears to have mainly been the result of relatively robust retail consenting activity in Auckland, Waikato and Canterbury, while the other main centres remained relatively subdued.
In Auckland alone, $89 million of building work on new retail premises was consented, covering 18,334 sqm of new space with an average size of 1667 sqm per consent.
The full building consent analysis tables for new retail space in Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Wellington, Canterbury, Otago and nationally, are available here.
Warehouse/storage buildings
The warehouse/storage sector has long been the darling of the commercial construction industry, posting some spectacular growth over the last few years.
However the amount of new warehouse/storage space consented took a substantial dive in Q2 this year, signaling perhaps that the sector's glory days may be on the wane.
Just 130,853 sqm of new warehouse/storage space was consented in Q2, which was almost a five year low.
The consented value of that work was $221.7 million, which was the lowest it has been since the beginning of 2021.
There were no significant changes in the average size of each project consented in Q2 (1924 sqm) or the average value ($2.26 million).
Auckland appears to have been particularly hard hit by the downturn, with the number of new warehouse/storage projects consented in the region in Q2 at its lowest level since interest.co.nz began collating the figures in 2010.
The full building consent analysis tables for new warehouse/storage space in Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Wellington, Canterbury, Otago and nationally, are available here.
New factory/industrial building consents
The amount of new factory/industrial space consented held up reasonably well in Q2 this year, with 104,516 sqm consented around the country, with a total consented value of almost $261 million, also a comparatively robust figure.
On average the buildings being consented are tending to be larger, at an average 1124sqm, although there are signs that build costs may be easing, dropping below 2500 per sqm in Q1 and Q2 this year after being above $3000 per sqm for the previous two quarters.
Consents for new factories and industrial buildings appeared to be particularly strong in Bay of Plenty, Canterbury and Otago in Q2.
The full building consent analysis tables for new warehouse/storage space in Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Wellington, Canterbury, Otago and nationally, are available here.
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