The volume of building activity bounced back to normal levels in the September 2020 quarter, following the significant drop in the COVID-hit June 2020 quarter, Stats NZ said today.
Volume measures of building work put in place exclude the effects of increasing construction costs to show underlying changes in the volume of work.
“Overall building activity was at pre-COVID levels in the September 2020 quarter, with residential work up 4.2 percent on the same period in 2019,” construction statistics manager Michael Heslop said.
“This quarter’s residential building volume is the highest estimate since the series began in 1989, but is still provisional due to COVID-related measurement challenges.”
After accounting for higher construction costs, estimated total building activity fell 0.6 percent in the September 2020 quarter compared with the September 2019 quarter. While the volume of work on residential buildings rose 4.2 percent, work on non-residential buildings fell 7.2 percent compared with the same period in 2019.
| Quarter | Total buildings | Residential | Non-residential |
| Sep-00 | 1753505456 | 1067350340 | 686155115.5 |
| Dec-00 | 1705035352 | 924983108.2 | 780052243.6 |
| Mar-01 | 1398118610 | 794309187.9 | 603809422.5 |
| Jun-01 | 1666660925 | 910087113.9 | 756573810.8 |
| Sep-01 | 1736318194 | 916144562.6 | 820173631.5 |
| Dec-01 | 1914729749 | 1130653870 | 784075878.8 |
| Mar-02 | 1565865376 | 876867780 | 688997595.6 |
| Jun-02 | 1771003810 | 1035776535 | 735227274.7 |
| Sep-02 | 2061903650 | 1256182739 | 805720910.9 |
| Dec-02 | 2126655180 | 1294286646 | 832368533.9 |
| Mar-03 | 1850433738 | 1163815813 | 686617924.5 |
| Jun-03 | 2040821526 | 1338576855 | 702244671 |
| Sep-03 | 2333882478 | 1475274544 | 858607933.6 |
| Dec-03 | 2282225408 | 1471618687 | 810606721.2 |
| Mar-04 | 1998146508 | 1288835673 | 709310834.8 |
| Jun-04 | 2380573033 | 1536808528 | 843764505.1 |
| Sep-04 | 2486895140 | 1518022871 | 968872268.9 |
| Dec-04 | 2352303921 | 1452653220 | 899650701.9 |
| Mar-05 | 2111640279 | 1291103211 | 820537067.6 |
| Jun-05 | 2484548340 | 1413528796 | 1071019544 |
| Sep-05 | 2504072621 | 1397988148 | 1106084473 |
| Dec-05 | 2452340210 | 1422800146 | 1029540064 |
| Mar-06 | 2250057862 | 1280125632 | 969932230.1 |
| Jun-06 | 2304975973 | 1292441197 | 1012534776 |
| Sep-06 | 2403665109 | 1404398038 | 999267071.3 |
| Dec-06 | 2352515970 | 1421439278 | 931076691.7 |
| Mar-07 | 2137225920 | 1253756701 | 883469219.2 |
| Jun-07 | 2334875782 | 1425168136 | 909707646.2 |
| Sep-07 | 2496757590 | 1545723262 | 951034328.4 |
| Dec-07 | 2527186450 | 1515043593 | 1012142857 |
| Mar-08 | 2109370628 | 1251592932 | 857777696.3 |
| Jun-08 | 2152924013 | 1237596753 | 915327259.5 |
| Sep-08 | 2223050306 | 1206302817 | 1016747489 |
| Dec-08 | 2028503456 | 1039751123 | 988752333.1 |
| Mar-09 | 1812468936 | 920933247.8 | 891535688.5 |
| Jun-09 | 1857986613 | 922335263.8 | 935651349.4 |
| Sep-09 | 1859965526 | 936742727.9 | 923222797.9 |
| Dec-09 | 1849630451 | 1005788896 | 843841554.6 |
| Mar-10 | 1690305182 | 904001289.5 | 786303892.2 |
| Jun-10 | 1979309387 | 1088197943 | 891111443.5 |
| Sep-10 | 1981745526 | 1058663252 | 923082273.8 |
| Dec-10 | 1973606097 | 967396794.9 | 1006209302 |
| Mar-11 | 1654258128 | 853936538.5 | 800321589.2 |
| Jun-11 | 1684865445 | 823954863.3 | 860910581.2 |
| Sep-11 | 1704863465 | 855311868.7 | 849551596.1 |
| Dec-11 | 1756392548 | 886030798.2 | 870361749.4 |
| Mar-12 | 1570791455 | 789833646 | 780957809 |
| Jun-12 | 1716056682 | 918294847.9 | 797761834.3 |
| Sep-12 | 1945401994 | 1007198892 | 938203101.9 |
| Dec-12 | 1986687854 | 1009748928 | 976938925.7 |
| Mar-13 | 1866449529 | 1020867112 | 845582417.6 |
| Jun-13 | 2003372869 | 1073345901 | 930026967.9 |
| Sep-13 | 2106388267 | 1217879597 | 888508670.5 |
| Dec-13 | 2078626672 | 1202791202 | 875835470.1 |
| Mar-14 | 2206407078 | 1289799304 | 916607773.9 |
| Jun-14 | 2334639676 | 1335488838 | 999150838 |
| Sep-14 | 2497435630 | 1390451558 | 1106984072 |
| Dec-14 | 2410069361 | 1393106347 | 1016963014 |
| Mar-15 | 2312266733 | 1350966869 | 961299864.3 |
| Jun-15 | 2413764956 | 1364674659 | 1049090297 |
| Sep-15 | 2491538702 | 1419558728 | 1071979973 |
| Dec-15 | 2559024701 | 1481907250 | 1077117452 |
| Mar-16 | 2558902920 | 1504942419 | 1053960500 |
| Jun-16 | 2790800772 | 1618725104 | 1172075669 |
| Sep-16 | 2893685842 | 1674884811 | 1218801030 |
| Dec-16 | 2920458334 | 1699590955 | 1220867379 |
| Mar-17 | 2671614098 | 1621093174 | 1050520924 |
| Jun-17 | 2757378221 | 1644624204 | 1112754017 |
| Sep-17 | 2913210170 | 1748888458 | 1164321713 |
| Dec-17 | 2937291997 | 1744398277 | 1192893720 |
| Mar-18 | 2735618482 | 1661536446 | 1074082036 |
| Jun-18 | 2862872448 | 1700620820 | 1162251628 |
| Sep-18 | 2964074484 | 1763238716 | 1200835769 |
| Dec-18 | 3056479480 | 1794883871 | 1261595610 |
| Mar-19 | 3048004552 | 1791648513 | 1256356039 |
| Jun-19 | 3086750744 | 1807508405 | 1279242338 |
| Sep-19 | 3192675730 | 1841684068 | 1350991662 |
| Dec-19 | 3171951284 | 1868693202 | 1303258082 |
| Mar-20 | 2863342829 | 1685035430 | 1178307399 |
| Jun-20 | 2287847883 | 1370662115 | 917185768.6 |
| Sep-20 | 3173811096 | 1919623902 | 1254187195 |
“Estimated non-residential building work fell 7.2 percent in the latest quarter, compared with the series high a year ago in the September 2019 quarter. Non-residential building activity can fluctuate from quarter to quarter, partly reflecting large commercial projects starting, ending, and, in some cases, pausing during construction,” Mr Heslop said.
Building activity down compared with September 2019 year
In the year ended September 2020, the overall volume of building activity was 7.2 percent lower than in the September 2019 year. Residential building activity was down 5.4 percent, and non-residential down 9.6 percent over the same period.
| Year | Residential buildings | Non-residential buildings |
| 2015 | 5528306604 | 4109792978 |
| 2016 | 6280459584 | 4536023927 |
| 2017 | 6715857474 | 4564002533 |
| 2018 | 6869794258 | 4630063153 |
| 2019 | 7235724857 | 5148185649 |
| 2020 | 6844014648 | 4652938445 |
Building activity estimates remain provisional
Due to COVID-19, the value of building work put in place estimates are less certain than usual and provide an initial indication of construction activity. The estimates remain provisional and are likely to be refined over time.
See Impact of COVID-19 on the value of building work put in place for September 2020 quarter.
Impact of COVID-19 on residential building sentiments in Auckland
Many quarterly building activity survey respondents also answered COVID-19-specific questions. Respondents for residential building projects in Auckland reported a greater impact from COVID-19 than those for non-residential building projects, and projects outside of Auckland.
See Impact of COVID-19 on residential building sentiments in Auckland.
