Residential building consents

Building consents head higher and higher

2 Nov 2021
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Brad Olsen

Our take on the latest Residential building consents (Tue 2 Nov 2021)

Residential consents rose to
47,331
In the year to September 2021
Townhouses up 47%pa in September 2021 year
Second month in a row with over 4,400 consents

The key numbers...

  • Residential consents remain incredibly strong, with 4,483 consents in September taking the annual total to 47,331, up 25% from the year to September 2020.
  • Townhouses continue to lead building intentions higher, with a 47%pa increase over the last 12 months. Retirement units and apartments are regaining momentum too, up 33% and 23%pa. Standalone houses are up 15%pa over the same period.
  • Auckland remains key to building growth, with 46% of the growth in consents over the last year coming from Auckland. Other key contributors over the last year include Canterbury (18% of growth), Waikato (9.6%), and Northland (5.2%).

Building consents head higher and higher

Dwelling consents, annual September totals
4086

...and our reaction

  • There are no signs yet of any slowdown in building intentions, and on the current trajectory we expect to see 50,000 consents a year recorded in early 2022. However, given the number of consents on the books, and the pipeline of activity still being worked on, we believe actual building capacity is limiting activity at a lower level.
  • We continue to hear about extreme capacity pressures across the building sector, including for building consent officials. It seems that there is still a high number of consents waiting to be processed, more needing to be signed off, and materials and labour constraints that are pushing out the time taken to build.
  • There’s an ever-growing focus on densification across New Zealand, with nearly half (46%) of all consents issued in the last year being for attached dwellings. This focus will intensify further, given recent announcements to boost medium-density building and speed up longer-term intensification changes.

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