An overview of the Auckland economy for September 2024, in charts and graphs and with some commentary.

Measures covered: house prices and numbers sold, weekly rents, building consents, employment and unemployment, GDP, business and consumer confidence, retail sales, imports.

Highlights include:

• real* GDP for the year ended June 2024 was 0.1% lower than for the year ended June 2023; in the rest of New Zealand, the annual change was a 0.2% fall. Both growth rates were below most periods since 2010 and 2011 respectively, and falling since mid-2023, and lower than recent population growth, but still above the Covid trough of 2020 (and above the GFC trough of 2009);
• real* value of retail sales for the year ended June 2024 was 3.7% lower than for the year ended June 2023; in the rest of New Zealand, the annual change was a 4.4% fall. Both growth rates were the worst since 2009 (just after the Global Financial Crisis), even including the 2020 Covid lockdowns. Both growth rates have been falling since late 2022, and increasingly negative since late 2023 and late 2022 respectively;
• number of people employed in Auckland in the quarter ended June 2024 was 0.5% higher than in June 2023 quarter, with population growth offsetting lower labour force participation rate and higher unemployment;
• the unemployment rate in Auckland in the quarter ended June 2024 was 4.6%, the second-highest quarter since March 2021, but still lower than 2009 to 2016 plus 2020, and slightly above 2017 to 2019;
• real* value of imports by seaports for the year ended July 2024 was $30.4 billion, which was 7% lower than the year ended July 2023, but 8% higher than 5 years ago. For the rest of New Zealand, the figure was $31.1 billion (19% lower than a year ago, and the same as 5 years ago);
• average weekly rent for the month of June 2024 was $684 (the same as a year ago in real* dollars; similar/below 2017 to mid-2022). For the rest of New Zealand, the figure was $575 (2.4% above June 2023, following three years of minimal growth, after January 2021);
• number of houses sold for the year ended July 2024 was 20,762 (13% above May 2023’s trough; 43% below July 2021 peak; below all of 2012-2022);
• median house price for the month of July 2024 was $950,000 (2% below nine years ago (2015) in real* dollars, and 7% lower than a year ago; slightly below most of the last 18 months; 36% below the 2021 peak);
• number of new dwellings consented in the year ended July 2024 was 13,662 (38% lower than the September 2022 peak; falling continuously since then; below  2019 onwards; higher than all of pre-2019);
• real* value of new non-residential buildings consented in the year ended July 2024 was $2,655 million (below the last three years, and 22% below the November 2022 peak, but 19% above the 2020 trough). ...

*Note: real dollars are after adjusting for the effects of inflation each quarter.

September 2024

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