Stand-alone houses lift consents despite sector challenges
New Zealand consented 33,979 new homes in the year ended June 2025, up 1% compared to the previous year, according to Stats NZ.
“This is the first time in two years that we have recorded annual growth in the number of new homes consented,” said Michelle Feyen (pictured), economic indicators spokesperson at Stats NZ, in a media release.
The lift was driven by a 6.3% rise in stand-alone house consents, reaching 15,858, while multi-unit home consents fell 3.2% to 18,121.
Multi-unit homes included:
- 14,361 townhouses, flats, and units (down 5.3%)
- 2,178 apartments (up 12%)
- 1,582 retirement village units (down 1.1%)
Auckland and Otago lead the gains
Auckland, now ranked 16th in Demographia’s 2025 affordability index after policy changes and a construction boom, consented 14,295 new homes, up 3.2% year-on-year.
“It’s the first time since early 2023 that Auckland’s annual consent numbers have increased,” Feyen said. “As the country’s largest region, this rise played a key role in the overall increase in home consents for the year.”
Otago posted the fastest growth, with 2,637 new homes consented, a 48% annual rise.
Quarterly picture: Stable trend despite June dip
In the June quarter, 8,196 new homes were consented, slightly down from 8,279 in the same quarter last year.
This included:
- 3,914 stand-alone houses (down 2.9%)
- 4,282 multi-unit homes (up 0.8%)
“Although the number of new homes consented dipped slightly in the June 2025 quarter compared with the same quarter last year, numbers have remained relatively stable over the past three quarters,” Feyen said.
Seasonally adjusted, consents fell 2.4% from the March quarter, following a 3% rise previously.
Economist view: Sector stabilising but no turnaround yet
Westpac NZ senior economist Satish Ranchhod said that while June’s residential consents fell 6%, the monthly drop was largely due to volatility in multi-unit projects.
“Residential consent issuance has stabilised, but we’re yet to see signs of a turn higher,” Ranchhod said in an analysis.
He noted that around 34,000 new dwellings have been consented annually for a year now, indicating the construction downturn may be bottoming out.
“It’s been a tough time for many construction firms,” Ranchhod said. “While the level of building activity isn’t low, many individual operators have seen a significant fall in workloads over the past couple of years. That’s seen pressure on operating margins, job losses and a large number of firms closing their doors (especially smaller operators).”
While stabilisation signals the sector may have reached a base, a material recovery is unlikely until next year, the Westpac leader added.
“We expect that over the coming year, low interest rates will support a strengthening in the housing market, and that will support a lift in new building,” Ranchhod said. “However, that recovery is likely to be gradual – we don’t expect a material lift in new building until next year.”
Non-residential activity: Mixed but stabilising
Non-residential consent values fell 1% annually, while total floor space consented fell 5.2%, continuing a multi-year decline.
Ranchhod said sector trends were uneven:
- Industrial and storage space development is picking up
- Office projects remain firm
- Retail development remains limited, reflecting weak retail spending
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