Our take on the latest Residential building consents (Wed 1 Apr 2026)
Dwelling consents
Dwelling consents
Annual dwelling consents
37,534
2.7%
23%Over the year to February 2026
From January 2026 (seasonally adjusted)
From the year to February 2025
The key numbers...
- There were 3,168 new dwelling consents issued in February, up 23% from February 2025 and up 2.7% (seasonally adjusted) from January 2026. This further improvement saw annual consents rise to 37,534 over the year to February 2026.
- Growth in dwelling consents continues to trend in an upward direction, although it has been patchy, with four month-on-month declines in the past year (on a seasonally adjusted basis). February is the second month in a row of monthly increases.
- Non-house consents continue to drive overall dwelling consents, outnumbering and outpacing house consents. House consents rose 7.8% in the year to February 2026, totalling 17,089. Non-house consents rose 15%, totalling 20,445.
- Within non-house consents, apartments led growth, up 34%, though a 15% increase in townhouse consents made the biggest contribution to the increased number of non-house dwellings. Retirement units continue to track sideways, easing 0.2%.
- Auckland and Canterbury made up 84% of the increase in dwelling consents in the three months ending February 2026. In total, these two regions made up 65% of all consents, with Waikato, Bay of Plenty, and Otago trailing well behind.
...and our reaction
- With consents data only up to the end of February 2026, it is too early to see any effects of the Middle East conflict, as oil prices only started to escalate at the end of February. We don’t expect March data to show much of an effect either, as it will largely reflect consents applied for in February or earlier. However, in coming months, high oil prices will start to flow through to households and business, potentially softening demand and making it harder for the construction sector to offer fixed-price contracts.
- The recovery in dwelling consents has been quite limited for the past six months, and even without the threat of high oil prices and general inflation, we weren’t expecting substantial further improvement in 2026.
- Even if consent issuance softens in coming months, the effects on construction workloads won’t be instant, with consents issued now representing work to be delivered over the next 12-24 months.
Latest updates
Premium
Residential 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 yearPremium
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. basis14%pa Townhouse consents over March 2026 yearResidential building consents
Modest growth in residential consents
Tue 3 Mar 2026
Monthly
36,944 Dwelling consents over the year to January 2026
1.9% Dwelling consents from December 2025 (seasonally adjusted)14% Annual townhouse consents from the year to January 2025