Our take on the latest Residential building consents (Fri 1 May 2026)
Annual consents
Consents trend sideways
Townhouse consents
37,813
3,300pm
14%paOver March 2026 year
On a seas. adj. basis
Over March 2026 year
The key numbers...
- There were 3,677 residential dwelling consents issued in March 2026, up 8.2%pa, taking the annual total over the March 2026 year to 37,813, which was 11% higher than the March 2025 year.
- Monthly consents were down 1.2% between February and March on a seasonally adjusted basis. There have been around 3,300 consents each month issued on a seasonally adjusted basis over the last four months.
- In the month of March, Canterbury townhouse consents rose 20%pa to 349, the largest monthly total for the region since November 2022.
- Over the last year, townhouse consents have seen the largest growth nationally, up 14%pa, followed by standalone houses (up 9.2%pa), retirement units (up 8.1%pa), then apartments (up 6.1%pa).
- Auckland and Canterbury have provided the largest share of growth over the last year, with Auckland consents rising 14%pa, and Canterbury consents up 20%pa.
...and our reaction
- The underlying trend for residential building consents continues to move sideways, rather than further up, consistent with our view that consents will peak at around 38,000pa this year.
- Although it’s still too early to see any evidence of the Iran War consent figures, we do expect some near-term weakness to show though in a few months as higher materials and fuel prices couple with lower confidence to limit the appetite for construction.
- The more immediate reason for consents to be tracking sideways, rather than growing further each month, has been the housing market’s lacklustre performance and a slow-to-improve labour market, which are limiting just how much more building is required in the short term.
- Worries around higher generalised inflation have seen retail mortgage rates rise over the last 2-3 months, with strong market anticipation that the official cash rate will reach 3.0% by the end of 2026, which could again restrain further growth in consents.
- However, assuming an end to the Iran War and subsequently better conditions for an economic recovery, we expect a further pick-up in consent momentum in 2027 as population growth adds to demand for housing.
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 year