Building activity

Waikato progress indicators – Tupuranga Waikato
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Waikato Progress Indicators - tupuranga Waikato

Image - building construction BUILDING ACTIVITY

WPI - down arrow   WORSENING TREND

(Note: trend indicator above is relative to 2007 WPI baseline year.)

Building activity in the Waikato region in 2023 fell below 2007 levels.

This indicator is the real value of new building consents issued per capita per year within the Waikato region.

Why is this indicator important?

The value of building consents issued is seen as a leading indicator of economic activity. An increase in building consents is linked with an area’s economic growth, whereas a decrease indicates economic growth is declining.

Building activity


Waikato Progress Indicators - Building activity graph

Year Real value of building consents authorised per capita
($) (annual - Dec)
1996 2,201
1997 2,523
1998 2,384
1999 2,587
2000 2,123
2001 2,473
2002 2,548
2003 3,480
2004 3,867
2005 4,793
2006 4,218
2007 4,352
2008 3,565
2009 2,793
2010 2,856
2011 2,265
2012 2,585
2013 2,806
2014 3,139
2015 3,808
2016 4,175
2017 4,397
2018 4,761
2019 5,344
2020 5,227
2021 6,272
2022 6,288
2023 4,583
2024 3,420

What is this indicator telling us? 

  • The year to December 2024 data showed a steep drop since 2022's record-high value of building activity in the region. A similar pattern occurred in other regions.
  • According to Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) figures, for the Waikato region there was around $1.8 billion of consents issued for all new buildings during the year to December 2024. This equates to a 38% decline in building consent annual value compared to 2022 in nominal terms. Over the same two-year period, annual GDP deflator growth (inflation) was +8.4% and estimated population growth +4.6%.
  • In per capita terms, there was $3,420 of new building consents per person in the Waikato region in 2024, which was below the New Zealand average.
  • In inflation-adjusted terms, the 2024 value of new building consents per person was 21% lower than the 2007 WPI baseline value.
  • Per capita building activity by value within the Waikato region over the past decade has been highest in the Waipā, Waikato and Thames-Coromandel districts and lowest in Waitomo, Rotorua and South Waikato.

DATA SOURCE AND SUPPORTING INFORMATION

Time series results are from the Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) InfoShare database (Number, value and floor area by building type, nature and region (Annual-Mon)). These can be found under Industry Sectors>Building Consents>Building consents by region (Annual-Dec).

These SNZ data have been inflation adjusted to latest year dollars using December quarter year-on-year GDP deflator values compiled by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ)

Per-capita adjustment uses latest annual estimated resident population time series from the SNZ InfoShare database.

Secondary indicators available from SNZ include the value and number of new dwelling units and new non-residential buildings authorised.

Update details: Monthly series available online in aggregated year-to-date format. Latest results are published online by SNZ within approximately one month of collection.

Customised data request requirements: Nil

DATA AVAILABILITY – OTHER THAN WAIKATO REGION:

Territorial Authority (TA) disaggregation: Yes.

Other regions: Yes

New Zealand: Yes

Other countries/ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD):  No