Residential building consents

Best month for dwelling consents since mid-2023

3 Nov 2025

Our take on the latest Residential building consents (Mon 3 Nov 2025)

Dwelling consents

34,882

As at September 2025

Total consents up 27% from Sep 2024

Townhouse consents up 50% from Sep 2024

There were 3,747 new dwelling consents issued in September which, after seasonal adjustment, was the strongest result for any month since June 2023. The lift in activity was underpinned by a 50%pa jump in townhouse consent numbers to 1,634, accompanied by sizable increases in apartment and standalone house consents.
Townhouse consents totalled 888 in Auckland for September, a 27-month high, and they also reached a 23-month high of 298 in Canterbury. There were also solid townhouse results in Wellington, Waikato, and Hawke’s Bay, while Taranaki’s total of 36 townhouse consents was a record high for the region.
Apartment consents totalled 436 for the month, up 48% from a year earlier. Auckland apartment consents were over 200 for the second consecutive month for the first time since January 2023. Otago recorded its second-highest monthly apartment total, with 158 consents, with all but 10 of these consents coming in Queenstown-Lakes. The nationwide annual apartment total of 2,638 is at its highest level since November 2023.
Growth in house consents, at 16%pa, was more muted than for attached dwellings. Nevertheless, the annual house consent total is now up to 15,978, its highest level since October 2023.
Retirement units remain under significant pressure, with just 76 units approved in September. The annual total of 1,220 consents is now at its lowest level since 2011.

New dwelling consents by type, annual average % changes

The annual consent total has held in a tight range, between 33,400 and 34,100 since June last year. However, the September result has seen it break higher to its strongest level in 17 months, with lower interest rates appearing to have a positive effect on residential building intentions.
Total consent numbers for the September quarter were 5.5% higher than the estimate in our recently published forecasts, primarily due to stronger-than-expected townhouse and apartment numbers. Nevertheless, this strength is consistent with our forecast of a rise in annual consent numbers towards 38,400 by the second half of 2026.
Auckland, Canterbury, and Wellington were the largest contributors to the 9.8% increase in consents between the September 2024 and September 2025 quarters. The lift in consents appears to be broad-based in the first two of these regions, but Wellington’s numbers have been skewed higher by a jump in townhouse consents that might not be sustained.
Overall, we remain of the view that there is a speculative element that will see residential consent numbers continue to increase over the next year, encouraged by lower interest rates and improving economic growth. The lift is at odds with weak net migration and sluggish house prices, although there is a risk that property values start to lift in response to lower mortgage rates, which would help cement a more robust upturn in residential consents during 2026.

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