Residential building consents
Annual rise, but weak trend still front and centre
1 Aug 2025
Our take on the latest Residential building consents (Fri 1 Aug 2025)
Dwelling consents
33,979
Over the year to June 2025
Consent numbers up 21% from June 2024
Retirement units consented lowest since February 2011
The key numbers...
- There were 2,627 new dwelling consents issued in June, up 21% from a year ago. The comparison month, June 2024, was particularly weak, as the second-weakest month since the beginning of 2018.
- Attached dwelling consents returned to trend, with soft consents across all build types. Following 211 retirement units consented in May, there were just 40 consented in June, the lowest monthly total since February 2011.
- Townhouse consent numbers rose to 14,361pa after slipping to a four-year low in May. The monthly total of 1,169 wasn’t a particularly strong one, with the rise in the annual total driven by the June 2024 month (the weakest since February 21) falling out of the annual running total.
- There were 116 apartment units consented in June, with the majority (103) in Auckland. The annual total (2,178 units) was 12% higher than a year ago, up for the second consecutive month for the first time since July 2023.
- Standalone house consents rose 3.0% from May (seasonally adjusted). The annual number of house consents (15,858pa) remains below 16,000pa, but it has been largely stable over the last 12 months (excluding a temporary dip last month).
Annual total up on a year ago, but softness still evident
Dwelling consents issued, annual running total
...and our reaction
- The annual consent total of 33,979 was higher than a year ago, for the first time since January 2023, but the underlying trend remains unchanged, as the annual rise was driven by a weak comparison period rather than a strong latest month for residential consents.
- Confidence in the residential construction industry according to ANZ’s Business Outlook survey for July plummeted, falling 28 points to just a net 17% of businesses expecting activity to improve in 12 months’ time. This reduced optimism aligns with the trends in consents over the past year and our expectations for construction activity.
- Across the main centres trends are mixed. The annual consent total in Auckland (14,295) pushed up to a 13-month high, while Canterbury (6,499) remains below a year ago, down 1.8%pa. Annual consents in Wellington (1,889) have remained below 2,000 for 11 consecutive months. Stability in consents in Auckland should help solidify the floor that has appeared in annual consents at around 33,500pa.
- We note that last July’s consent total was unusually large due to a record 451 consents issued in Otago. The July 2025 figure is likely to come in 200-300 consents below that figure.
- The economic recovery, driven by better primary sector returns and lower mortgage rates for borrowers, should flow through the rest of the economy throughout the second half of the year, and help push the annual running total of consents above 35,000pa by the end of the year.
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Residential building consents
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37,813 Annual consents over March 2026 year
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