Our take on the latest Residential building consents (Thu 4 Feb 2021)
New dwelling consents up 27%pa
Townhouse consents up 62%pa
The key numbers...
- Total new dwelling consents soared 27%pa in December, taking the number of new dwelling consents in 2020 to 39,420, which is 4.8% higher than 2019.
- Strength in attached dwelling consents saw annual growth up 12%pa in 2020, but house consents flat-lined, with growth sitting at -0.3%.
- Apartment consents have also picked up in recent months, growing 44%pa in the December quarter.
- Much of the attached dwelling consent growth came from Auckland where townhouse consents were up 77%pa (or 3,168) in 2020.
- Canterbury and Hawke’s Bay have also contributed significantly to 2020’s growth, with new dwelling consents increasing by 33% (or 588) and 19% (or 333), respectively.
- The Otago region saw the largest annual fall of new dwelling consents in 2020, down 17% (or 307), followed by Waikato, down 12% (or 215).
Attached dwelling consents
Annual running total
...and our reaction
- The booming property market is propelling residential consents which, in turn, appears to be creating new construction jobs, according to the latest Household Labour Force Survey.
- These new jobs will be needed if we are to fulfil these consents as obtaining skilled labour from overseas is not an option given COVID-19 and the border closures.
- With much of the increased cost of building and buying property being attributed to high land costs, and a significant shortage of housing in Auckland, it’s no surprise that developers have continued to shift towards higher-density builds in 2020.
Latest updates
Premium
Residential building consents
Residential consents fall 3.6% in June
Mon 3 Aug 2026
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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
Monthly
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
Residential consents jump up 11% in April
Wed 3 Jun 2026
Monthly
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