An overview of the Auckland economy for February 2026, in charts and graphs and with some commentary.

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

Highlights include:

• number of people employed for the quarter ended December 2025 was 1.1% lower than in December 2024 quarter: the sixth quarter in a row of negative annual growth rates despite population growth; among the worst since 2009-2010 following the GFC;
• unemployment rate for the quarter ended December 2025 was 6.4%: similar to the rest of 2025, double the 2021 trough, the highest-equal since 2014, similar to most of 2011 to 2015, below the 2010 post-GFC peak;
• median house price for the month of December 2025 was $1,015,000 (in real* dollars: similar or slightly above the last eight months; similar to a year ago; 32% below the 2021 record peak; below December 2015);
• number of houses sold for the year ended December 2025 was 23,797: similar to the last six months; 29% above the May 2023 trough; mostly slightly above 2017-2020; 35% below the 2021 peak;
• average weekly rent for the month of November 2025 was $673 (in real* dollars: similar to the last five months; 12% below February 2021; similar to ten years ago). For the rest of New Zealand, the figure was $589: the highest since February 2025 (but highly seasonal); 3% below a year ago; the lowest November figure since 2020;
• number of new dwellings consented in the year ended December 2025 was 15,617: rising steadily since April; 12% above a year ago; 29% below the September 2022 peak; 3% above the 2019 pre-Covid peak;
• real* value of new non-residential buildings consented in the year ended December 2025 was $2,649 million: same as November; rising since August; 5% above a year ago; 24% below the 2022 and 2019 peaks; 16% above the 2020 trough;
• real* value of imports by Auckland seaports for the year ended December 2025 was $32.3 billion: gradually rising 5.4% over the last year, still 6% below April 2023, but 21% higher than the 2020 Covid trough. For the rest of New Zealand, the figure was $31.9 billion: slightly above the last year and a half, 22% above the 2020 trough, and 24% lower than their 2023 post-Covid rebound peak.

*Note: real dollars/values are after adjusting for the effects of inflation each quarter, so a similar ‘real’ level means that a value rose at a similar rate to inflation.

February 2026

Previous updates. 

January

2025

November

December