Have consent numbers returned to 2023 levels?

For the third month in a row, the annual number of new homes consented exceeded 40,000 – a level last recorded in 2023

In total, 41,268 new homes were consented in the year ended August 2026 – an increase of 21.1% compared with the year ended August 2025.

The total comprised of 19,096 standalone houses (+21.2%) and 22,172 multi-unit homes (+21%).

Of the multi-unit homes consented, there were 18,085 townhouses, flats and units (+24.7%), 2,381 apartments (-4%) and 1,706 retirement village units (+27.2%).

Monthly increases

In the month of August 2026, 3,440 new dwellings were consented – an increase of 11.7% compared to the month of August 2025. This number comprised of 1,704 standalone houses (+14.2%), 1,455 townhouses, flats and units (+21.4%), 153 retirement village units (+15%) and 128 apartments (-50%).

Regions on the up

15 of 16 regions consented more dwellings in the year ended August 2026 compared to the previous year. Canterbury recorded the biggest increase with 8,933 (+35.4%), followed by Southland with 459 (+30.8%), Gisborne with 207 (+24%) and Northland 891 (+22.6%).

West Coast was the only region to issue fewer new home consents, recording 161 consents (-12.5%).

The four regions with the most consents issued were:

• 17,264 in Auckland (+19.1%).
• 8,933 in Canterbury (+35.4%).
• 3,219 in Waikato (+14.4%).
• 2,987 in Otago (+20.8%).

Increased consents per 1,000 residents

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

Three regions consented above national levels: Canterbury (12.8), Otago (11.8) and Auckland (9.5).

Non-residential building consents decrease

In the year ended August 2026, non-residential building consents totalled $8.9bn, up 2.2% from the year ended August 2025. This could be influenced by price changes, with non-residential construction prices (as measured by the capital goods price index) up 2.2% in the year ended June 2026. The building types with the highest value were:

Offices, administration, and public transport buildings – $1.8bn (+19%).

Education buildings – $1.3bn (+9.3%).

Storage buildings – $1.3bn (-0.7%).