Confidence is slowing creeping back into the Bay of Plenty building sector with $88.6million spent on building consents this summer.

Figures released by Priority One in their monthly building consent report show the total value of all building consents issued including commercial and additions for Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty is $88.6million, alongside an increase in the total number of building consents.

Construction on the new Police Station on Monmouth Street.

In Tauranga alone, building consents for February were valued at $35.1million, well up on January's $25.6million while the Western Bay of Plenty recorded a total $9.4million, also ahead of last month's $8.3million.

Priority One project manager Annie Hill believes the economy is beginning to pick up again with monthly consent fluctuations flattening out to sit between the $16.1million low in December 2011 and record high $47.7 million in August 2012.

'It has been up and down up and down. But it is more consistent than it has been in the past.”

In Tauranga the number of consents for new homes this January and February increased by 43 per cent from 112 to 159.

Master Builders Tauranga association president Brian Foster says many building firms are beginning to be booked out for the next year or so after what was a 'very quiet couple of years”.

'I think generally talking to the guys they have noticed an increase in work load and more work coming up.

'It's a bit hard to know what [if the boom will continue], but it looks pretty positive at the moment.”

Commercial consents in Tauranga also spiked at $14.7million, slightly ahead of last year's $13.3million due to a warehouse on Hewletts Road ($6million), a community centre for a retirement village ($3.8mllion) and a Tauriko printing works warehouse and office development ($1.4mllion).

Annie says these figures indicate there are no signs the building industry will slow and can be taken as a sign of the sector coming out of the recession.

During the last four years there has been a big increase in city building consents, jumping from $4million in 2009 to $40million in 2012, which shows people are beginning to regain their confidence in the market.

Statistics released by Statistics New Zealand this morning, show the nationwide building sector is also on the up with building activity increasing 1.8 per cent in the December quarter.

Statistics New Zealand industry and labour statistics manager Blair Cardno says the national rise in activity volume follows the 9.8 per cent spike in the September quarter, the largest percentage increase in 10 years.

"Unadjusted building consent values were up 18 per cent in the 2012 year, compared with the 2011 year."

"This rise has continued to flow through into building activity."

Residential building activity continues to lead the way increasing 0.7 per cent following large increases of 6.5 per cent in September and 7.7 per cent in June.

This comes after residential activity fell to an 18-year low in the September 2011 quarter, before rising 20 per cent since.