Canterbury continues to drive consents

In the year ended July 2026, residential building consents passed 40,000 for the second consecutive month – driven by strong performances across Canterbury

In total, 40,908 new homes were consented in the year ended July 2026 – an increase of 321 compared to the year ended June 2026. You have to go back to the year ended June 2023 for the last time more than 40,000 new homes were consented. 

Consents for the year ended July 2026 were up 21% compared with the year ended July 2025 – an increase of more than 7,000 from that period’s total of 33,879. 

“Annual home consent numbers have continued to strengthen in recent months, with increases in both stand-alone houses and multi-unit homes,” said Stats Economic Indicators Spokesperson Michelle Feyen. 

“Of these regions, Canterbury had the strongest annual growth in the number of new homes consented, driven by higher numbers in both Christchurch City and Selwyn,” she said. 

Canterbury consented 8,732 new homes in the year ended July 2026 – an increase of 32.6% compared to the previous year end and the second largest percentage increase in New Zealand behind Gisborne (229; + 55.8%). 

Of the 40,908 new homes consented in the year ended July 2026, there were 18,884 stand-alone houses (+20.4% compared with the previous year) and 22,024 multi-unit homes (+21.1%).  

Of the multi-unit homes consented, there were 17,829 townhouses, flats and units (+23.5%), 2,509 apartments (+10.5%) and 1,686 retirement village units (+13.7%). 

Monthly increases

In the month of July 2026, 3,579 new dwellings were consented – an increase of 10.1% compared to the month of July 2025. This number comprised of 1,769 stand-alone houses (+17%), 1,567 townhouses, flats and units (+10.9%), 47 retirement village units (-65.2%) and 196 apartments (+2.1%). 

Regions on the up

14 of 16 regions consented more dwellings in the year ended July 2026 compared to the previous year. Gisborne recorded the biggest increase with 229 (+55.8%), followed by Canterbury with 8,732 (+32.6%), Southland with 454 (+31.6%) and Otago with 2,950 (+21.2). 

West Coast dropped the most, recording 164 consents (-14.1%). 

In Canterbury, 4,773 new homes were consented in Christchurch city, up 28% from the previous July year, and 2,355 in the Selwyn district, up 59%. 

The four regions with the most consents issued were: 

• 17,260 in Auckland (+20.3%). 

• 8,732 in Canterbury (+32.6%). 

• 3,226 in Waikato (+14.9%). 

• 2,950 in Otago (+21.2%). 

Increased consents per 1,000 residents

The number of dwellings consented per 1,000 residents increased to 7.7 for the year ended July 2026, compared to 6.4 in the year ended June 2025. 

Three regions consented above national levels: Canterbury (12.5), Otago (11.6) and Auckland (9.5). 

Non-residential building consents decrease

In the year ended July 2026, non-residential building consents totalled $8.8bn, down 2.5% from the year ended July 2025. The building types with the highest value were: 

• Offices, administration, and public transport buildings – $1.7bn (-2.3%).  

• Storage buildings – $1.3bn (-1.2%). 

• Education buildings – $1.3bn (+8.4%).