Our take on the latest Residential building consents (Thu 6 May 2021)
Annual new dwelling consents up 9.1%pa
Townhouse consents up 58%pa
Largest monthly and annual dwelling consent numbers ever
The key numbers...
- There were 4,218 new dwelling consents in March, 137 more than the previous monthly record in Oct 1973. Annual new dwelling consents also reached a new peak of 41,028, up from the previous record of 40,025 in February 1974.
- Medium-density townhouse consents also reached a new record, growing 58%pa to reach 1,243 in the month of March, but high-density apartment consents fell 10%.
- Standalone house consents also did well, growing 41%pa, but compared to other times of strength standalones are making up a smaller proportion of total consents.
- Northland, Gisborne, and Tasman regions are current strong performers, with consents over the past three months up 73%, 79%, and 64%pa respectively. However, Auckland is still the major driver of growth, with consents up 25%pa over the last three months.
Consent growth by dwelling type
Annual running total
...and our reaction
- March 2021 was an incredibly strong result for new dwelling consents, particularly for townhouses, and helps maintain momentum in addressing the undersupply of housing.
- Developers are looking for the best return and with land prices so high, the lower per-square-meter cost of medium-density townhouses offers an attractive return.
- The government’s housing package announcement was on March 23, so it’s too early to draw conclusions about the effects the policies will have on residential consents, although we generally expect incentives to support more new builds.
- An inability to source building resources because of supply chain issues combined with pent-up demand remains the biggest challenge for the construction sector. Cost escalation and large delays will be of heightened concern in the residential space.
- However, it’s unlikely that house prices will keep up their same pace for long, and we expect building intentions could well slow alongside slower house price growth and Reserve Bank concerns about a house price correction could see some developers rethink their options.
Latest updates
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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