Annual home consents drop

The number of homes consented in the year ended February 2025 dropped by 7.4% compared with the year ended February 2024 

There were 33,595 new homes consented, down from 36,276 homes the previous year.  

“The annual number of new homes consented has been plateauing for nine months now,” said Stats NZ Economic Indicators spokesperson Michelle Feyen. 

“Although the annual number of multi-unit homes consented decreased for the second year in a row, the number of stand-alone houses saw a slight increase,” Feyen said. 

There were 15,852 stand-alone houses consented (+2.3% compared with the year ended February 2024) and 17,743 multi-unit homes (-14.6%). Of the multi-unit homes, there were 14,228 townhouses, flats and units (-14.8%), 1,678 retirement village units (-6.5%) and 1,837 apartments (-14.6%). 

There was also a -7.8% drop in the number of homes consented in the month of February 2025 (2,578), compared with the month of February 2024. 

Of those, 1,387 were multi-unit homes (-7.4%) and 1,191 were stand-alone houses (-8.2%). 

Of the multi-unit homes consented in February 2025, there were 1,177 townhouses, flats, and units (+1.6%), 110 apartments (-44.7%) and 100 retirement village units (-28.6%). 

“February 2025 had the fewest number of stand-alone houses consented in any February month since 2012,” said Feyen. 

Regional outliers 

Three regions consented more dwellings in the year ended February 2025 compared to the previous year. Otago consented 2,442 new homes (+25.1%), Taranaki 466 new homes (+4.7%) and West Coast 209 new homes (+1.5%). 

The four regions with the most consents issued were Auckland (13,773; -%9.7), Canterbury (6,652; -0.6%), Waikato (2,851; -14.9%) and Otago (2,442; +25.1%). 

Consents down per 1,000 residents  

In terms of dwellings consented per 1,000 residents, the figures for the year ended February 2025 declined compared with the year ended February 2024 (6.3 vs 6.9). 

Three regions consented above national levels: Auckland (7.7), Canterbury (9.6), and Otago (9.5). 

Non-residential building consents down 

In the year ended February 2025, non-residential building consents totalled $8.8bn, down 11% from the year ended February 2024. The building types with the highest value were: 

• Offices, administration and public transport buildings – $1.6bn (-4.4%). 
• Storage buildings – $1.3bn (-12%). 
• Factories – $1.3bn (+0.3%).