January consents lowest for five years

The month of January 2024 saw fewer new homes consented than in each of the previous five January months

The 1,991 new homes consented in January 2024 represents a 28% reduction compared with January 2023, which had 2,777 new homes consented. That’s also 34% less than the 3,025 homes consented in January 2021; the most since 2014.

In January 2024, there were 899 stand-alone homes consented – a drop of 16% when compared with January 2023. There were also 1,092 multi-unit homes consented in January 2024, of which 123 were apartments and 70 retirement village units – a 36% reduction compared with January 2023.

“The last time less than 1,000 stand-alone houses were consented in a month was April 2012, when 959 stand-alone houses were consented,” said construction and property statistics manager Michael Heslop.

“Several large projects contributed to the 373 apartments and 352 retirement village units that were consented in January 2023. This played a part in the large decrease for apartments and retirement village units in the January 2024 month.”

In the year ended January 2024, 36,453 new homes were consented – 26% less than in the same period the previous year. Of the new homes consented, there were 20,946 multi-unit homes (-26% year-on-year) and 15,507 stand-alone houses (-26%). Of the multi-unit homes, 16,693 were townhouses, flats and units (-19%), 2,817 apartments (-35%) and 2,401 retirement village units (-19%). 

In seasonally adjusted terms, the number of new homes consented in January 2024 fell 8.8% compared with December 2023, following a 3.6% seasonally adjusted rise in December 2023. 

Regional outliers

Only one region consented more dwellings in the year ended January 2024 compared to the previous year, with Gisborne (177 vs 163) bucking nationwide trends. 

“The number of new homes consented in Gisborne increased 8.6% in the year ended January 2024,” Heslop said. 

“The increase in Gisborne was driven by multi-unit homes, up 16% whereas the number of stand-alone houses consented was flat.” 

The four regions with the most consents issued were Auckland (15,309; -28%), Canterbury (6,774; -24%) Waikato (3,431; -27%) and Wellington (2,326; -41%), though all experienced declines compared with the year ended January 2023. 

Consents down per 1,000 residents

In terms of dwellings consented per 1,000 residents, the figures for the year ended January 2024 declined compared with the year ended January 2023 (7.0 vs 9.6). 

Three regions consented above-national levels: Auckland (8.8), Otago (7.6) and Canterbury (7.6). 

Non-residential building consents up

In the year ended January 2024, non-residential building consents totalled $9.9bn, up 4% from the year ended January 2023. The building types with the highest value were: 

• Storage buildings – $1.6bn (+6.2%).
• Offices, administration and public transport buildings – $1.5bn (-13%). 
• Hospitals, nursing homes, and health buildings – $1.4bn (+4.1%).