Our take on the latest Residential building consents (Fri 4 Feb 2022)
Residential consents
48,899
Issued during 2021
Consents up 24% over 2021
Momentum starting to wane
The key numbers...
- Residential consents had a very strong year over 2021, with a record 48,899 consents issued, up 24% from 2020.
- Townhouses were the growth story over 2021, with 16,327 townhouse consents over the year, up 41% compared to 2020.
- Almost all regions recorded very strong growth in consents over the year. Tasman was the only region to have a decline in consents over 2021, with consents falling by 5%.
- Although consent numbers are still increasing, momentum in consents has started to wane in the latter part of the year. Growth in the December quarter was 14%pa, compared to 30%pa growth in the September quarter.
Annual dwelling consents
...and our reaction
- New Zealand has had a shortage of supply of housing for quite some time, pushing up house prices and making homeownership an unaffordable goal for many New Zealanders. The incredibly strong consent numbers over the past year will make some headway into alleviating the short supply.
- Townhouses have increased their share of new builds over the past year and will continue to be supported by lower land requirements, making them a more affordable way to get into the housing market.
- Translating record build intentions into actual completions is becoming an increasingly difficult task, with the tightest labour market on record, and surging input costs. As a result, timelines on new dwellings coming to market will be pushed out and the pipeline of residential activity will continue to be extended.
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