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

Highlights include:

• real* Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the year ended December 2023 was 1.3% higher than for the year ended December 2022; in the rest of New Zealand, the annual change was a 0.3% rise;
• real* retail sales for the year ended December 2023 were 2.5% lower than for the year ended December 2022; in the rest of New Zealand, the annual change was a 3.9% fall. Both growth rates were the worst since 2009;
• real* value of imports by seaports for the year ended January 2024 was $31.3 billion, which was 6.6% lower than the year ended January 2023, but 7.0% higher than 5 years ago. For the rest of New Zealand, the figure was $32.7 billion (20.4% lower than a year ago);
• average weekly rent for the month of December 2023 was $683 (4.7% higher than December 2022 in real* dollars, but still similar to seven years ago). For the rest of New Zealand, the figure was $586 (3.7% higher than December 2022, but similar to two years ago);
• number of houses sold for the year ended January 2024 was 19,787 (1% lower than a year prior, but higher than most of 2023);
• median house price for the month of January 2024 was $975,000 - the lowest in seven years, in real* dollars (1% lower than a year prior; 34% below the 2021 peak; 8% below seven years ago);
• the unemployment rate in Auckland in the quarter ended December 2023 was 4.2%, slightly above the last two years’ record lows, but still lower than 2008 to 2017;
• the number of people employed in Auckland in the quarter ended December 2023 was 3.6% higher than in December 2022 quarter, due to both population growth and higher labour force participation rate.

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

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

March 2024

Previous updates. 

January

February

2023

October

November

December