Our take on the latest Residential building consents (Tue 1 Jun 2021)
Annual residential consents
42,848
As of April 2021
Consents up 84% from lockdown
Annual consents soar as lockdown drops out of the numbers
The key numbers...
- Annual residential dwelling consents reached another record high in April, with 42,848 consents over the year to April 2021, a sharp increase as lockdown moves out of the annual figures.
- With 3,994 new dwelling approvals, consents in April 2021 are sitting 84% higher than they were throughout lockdown in April 2020. Compared with April 2019, new dwelling consents were 53% higher.
- Residential dwelling consents are continuing to gain momentum, with seasonally adjusted consents up 4.7% from March which is the highest individual month on record.
- Consents in Auckland remain the driver of growth, with 729 more dwelling approvals in the region than a year ago, accounting for the largest share of growth.
Dwelling consents
...and our reaction
- Level 4 lockdown last year distorts annual growth rates in April. However, when compared to 2019 levels and looking at seasonally adjusted figures, it is clear to see that residential consents are still running incredibly strong.
- The government’s housing package was in effect through April, but due to the lag between a consent being applied for and approved, we don’t expect the housing package’s incentives on new builds have begun to have full effect just yet.
- It’s more likely that the continued strong house price growth and cheap credit was more influential in this month’s strong result.
- Supply chain disruptions and capacity constraints are contributing to growing cost pressures and are likely to impact the ability to transform record consent numbers into the equivalent building activity.
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. 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