Residential building consents

Apartments fast running out of steam

30 Sept 2020
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Brad Olsen

Our take on the latest Residential building consents (Wed 30 Sept 2020)

New dwelling consents down 3.6%pa in August
Apartments down 46%pa over the three months to August
Medium density dwellings propping up activity

The key numbers...

  • Consented dwellings have continued to soften, but not plummet, with total residential consents down 3.6%pa in August.
  • Standalone housing continues to push lower, with an 8.5%pa drop in August, as house consents declined in all regions except Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, and Taranaki.
  • Apartments remain in decline, with a 46% fall in consents over the three months to August, driven by a 50% decrease in Auckland apartment consents.
  • Retirement dwelling consents are also stuttering, with a poor August month (down 55%pa) undoing much of June’s post-lockdown surge in consents. Total retirement units since the start of March have fallen 21%pa.
  • Townhouses are the saving grace for construction, with growth of 56%pa over the three months to August, with Auckland, Waikato, and Wellington boosting activity levels.

Rise of the townhouses

Share of annual consents
3714

...and our reaction

  • August saw a continuation of weaker consent numbers, although it’s important to remember that this softening is much more gradual than we’d originally feared, with total consents since March down just 2.2%pa over the six-month period.
  • The mix of housing continues to shift, with medium-density townhouses becoming a larger share of building activity at the expense of standalone dwellings, thanks to planning changes in recent years that have accelerated a modal shift.
  • Apartment building has been battered since COVID-19 arrived, with lending for high density projects drying up, fewer international students lowering demand, and more remote working dampening demand for inner-city living.
  • Retirement building has temporarily paused in the current pandemic environment, with projects taking longer to be progressed than was expected pre-pandemic.
  • Interest rates are set to fall further over the next few quarters, which will maintain better than expected building activity, but the type of building expected is clearly still focused on medium density activity, with low- and high-density building softening.

Latest updates

Premium
Residential building consents

Residential consents fall 3.6% in June

Mon 3 Aug 2026
Monthly
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. basis
Premium
Residential building consents

Residential consents fall 4.0% in May

Thu 2 Jul 2026
Monthly
39,737 Annual consents over May 2026 year
4.0% May 2026 consents from April on a seas. adj. basis
22%pa Townhouse consents over May 2026 year
Residential building consents

Residential consents jump up 11% in April

Wed 3 Jun 2026
Monthly
39,087 Annual consents over April 2026 year
11% April 2026 consents from March on a seas. adj. basis
19%pa Multi-unit consents over April 2026 year
Residential 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. basis
14%pa Townhouse consents over March 2026 year