Standalone house consents buck trend with 2.4% rise

Standalone house consents experienced a small increase across New Zealand, while overall home consents dipped 3.8% and multi-unit dwelling consents continue to decline 

In total, there were 33,530 new homes consented in New Zealand in the year ended May 2025, a reduction of 3.8% compared with the year ended May 2024. However, stand-alone houses consented increased by 2.4% to 15,678 in the year ended May 2025 over the same time period. 

“The record for the annual number of new homes consented was 51,015 in the year ended May 2022. While consent numbers fell sharply after that peak, they have levelled out over the past year,” said Stats NZ Economic Indicators Spokesperson Michelle Feyen. 

The number of multi-unit homes consented across New Zealand for the year ended May 2025 dropped by 8.6% to 17,852 when compared with the year ended May 2024. The reduction in multi-unit consents follows declines of 11.1% for the year ended April 2025 and 9.9% for the year ended March 2025.  

Of the multi-unit homes consented in May 2025, there were 14,088 townhouses, flats and units (-11% compared with the year ended May 2024), 2,137 apartments (+6.2%) and 1,627 retirement village units (-4.5%). 

In the month of May 2025, there were 3,151 new dwellings consented (-0.8% compared to the month of May 2024), comprising 1,464 stand-alone houses (-5.9%), 1,320 townhouses, flats and units (-7.3%), 211 retirement village units (+142.5%) and 156 (+43.1%) apartments. 

The number of new dwellings consented in May 2025 makes it the second most productive month since July 2024. Only March 2025, with 3,398, consented more.

Regional outliers  

Four regions consented more dwellings in the year ended May 2025 compared to the previous year. Otago 2,616 (+37.3%), followed by Taranaki with 482 new homes consented (+27.5%), Tasman with 309 (+15.7%), and West Coast, which consented 201 (+0.5%).  

The four regions with the most consents issued were:  

• 13,864 in Auckland (-4.3%).  

• 6,501 in Canterbury (-3.7%).  

• 2,876 in Waikato (-9.2%).  

• 1,851 in Wellington (-15.6%).   

Consents down per 1,000 residents   

In terms of dwellings consented per 1,000 residents, the figures for the year ended May 2025 declined compared with the year ended May 2024 (6.3 vs 6.6).  

Three regions consented above national levels: Otago (10.4), Canterbury (9.5) and Auckland (7.7).   

Non-residential building consents down  

In the year ended May 2025, non-residential building consents totalled $9bn, down 2.3% from the year ended May 2024. The building types with the highest value were:  

• Offices, administration and public transport buildings – $1.8bn (+14%).  

• Factories – $1.3bn (+3.3%). 

• Storage buildings – $1.3bn (-11%).  

The current state of housing in New Zealand 

While consent numbers are down, the cost of housing has risen 31%, according to Stats NZ Housing in Aotearoa New Zealand: 2025 study. 

“Financial strain of high housing costs can mean households cannot afford housing that meets their needs, therefore affecting their wellbeing and the wellbeing of their families,” said 2023 Census Spokesperson Dr Rosemary Goodyear. 

In the year ended June 2024, the median house sale price was $753,500 and the median household equivalised disposable income was $38,087. That means it would take the average New Zealand household five years to save for a 5% deposit and 20 years for a 20% deposit. 

Housing density increased in every region between 2013 and 2023, with Auckland experiencing the largest increase in housing density (+17.9%). The Nelson and Wellington regions experienced the second and third largest increase in housing density of 12.1% and 10.7%. 

Between 2013 and 2023, the number of joined private dwellings increased by 37.6%, which was much higher than the increase in separate private dwellings (18%). 

“There was a rapid increase in building in the five years between 2018 and 2023. In some parts of New Zealand, however, housing supply is not necessarily keeping up with demand for housing,” stated the report.  

“Although there has been a recent increase in residential house building, we still lag behind the 1970s in relation to new dwelling consents per head of population. This lack of supply has affected affordability throughout New Zealand, but particularly in the Auckland region, which had the highest median price of $1,010,000 as at February 2025.” 

Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash.