The value of new office buildings being consented is down significantly, particularly in Auckland and the Bay of Plenty.
According to Interest.co.nz's latest analysis of commercial building consents, the average value of building work consented for new office projects was $2.37 million per consent, in the second quarter (Q2) of this year.
That's down 42% compared to Q1 and down 57% compared to Q2 last year, and is the lowest average value for new office building work since Q4 2021.
The above figures are for new builds only and exclude alteration work to existing buildings.
According to Statistics NZ, the total value of all work consented for new office projects in Q2 this year was $111.3m, down 58% compared to Q2 2025, and the lowest amount in any quarter since Q1 2020, which was affected by the Covid pandemic.
The decline in consented work for office buildings was particularly noticeable in Auckland and the Bay of Plenty.
In Auckland, there was a noticeable move towards cheaper office buildings, with the average build cost per consent dropping to $2.4m in Q2 this year, down 76% year-on-year.
That was the lowest average build cost for new offices in Auckland since Q4 2020, and pushed the total value of new office building work in Auckland down to $35.6m in Q2 this year, also the lowest it's been since Q4 2020.
In the Bay of Plenty just two new office projects were consented in Q2, with a combined build value of just $500,000, down a whopping 97% compared to Q2 last year when $16.5m of new office builds were consented.
New office consents in the Bay of Plenty in Q2 were at their lowest level since Q1 2017.
Consents for new factories and industrial buildings have also shown a trend towards cheaper buildings.
The average build cost of the new factories and industrial buildings consented throughout the country in Q2 was $1.99m, down 52% from Q2 last year. It was also the lowest average build cost for factories and industrial building since Q4 2022.
Interest.co.nz's quarterly analysis of building consents for new office, retail, factory and industrial and warehouse buildings, provides a breakdown by the average size, average total build cost, and average cost per square metre, nationally and in each of the six largest urban regions. It is available here.
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