Our take on the latest Residential building consents (Tue 30 Jul 2019)
Annual dwelling consents
34,761
As of June 2019
Consents up 3.2%pa in June
Apartment consents up 52%pa in June
The key numbers...
- Year-ended residential consents numbers have been growing since 2012 as the supply of residential building tries to catch up with demand.
- The story of supply chasing demand is most prominent in Auckland, where it is also needed the most.
- We expect new dwelling consents to keep growing throughout 2019, but weaker house prices and slowing economic growth are forecast to slow the momentum in 2020.
- Most of the growth in consent numbers is coming from non-house dwellings, especially in Auckland, indicating an ongoing push towards higher-density accommodation.
Apartment building consents
Annual total building consents
...and our reaction
- The number of new dwelling consents grew 3.2%pa in June, which was slightly slower than growth in May (8.2%pa).
- Consent numbers were strong in Auckland (up 15%pa) but weak for the rest of New Zealand (down 3.5%pa).
- Wellington consent numbers dropped 26%pa in June due to a decline in apartment numbers from a year earlier.
- Other major regions remained relatively stable, with consent numbers in Canterbury up 1.3%pa and down 0.6% in Waikato.
- Consent numbers for non-houses grew at 16%pa, with a lot of the growth coming from apartment consents (up 52%pa, or 168 units).
Latest updates
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Residential building consents
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40,581 Annual consents over the June 2026 year
19% June 2026 consents over the June 2026 year
3.6% June 2026 consents from May on a seas. adj. basisPremium
Residential building consents
Residential consents fall 4.0% in May
Thu 2 Jul 2026
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39,737 Annual consents over May 2026 year4.0% May 2026 consents from April on a seas. adj. basis22%pa Townhouse consents over May 2026 yearResidential building consents
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Wed 3 Jun 2026
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39,087 Annual consents over April 2026 year11% April 2026 consents from March on a seas. adj. basis19%pa Multi-unit consents over April 2026 yearResidential building consents
Residential consent momentum trends sideways
Fri 1 May 2026
Monthly
37,813 Annual consents over March 2026 year
3,300pm Consents trend sideways on a seas. adj. basis14%pa Townhouse consents over March 2026 year