Residential building consents have turned positive, according to the latest residential building consent data released.
There were 3,080 new residential building consents issued in August, up 6.9 percent from a year ago. August consents rose 5.8 percent from July 2025 on a seasonally adjusted basis, following a 5.3 percent rise in July. On an annual basis, consents are at their highest level since the year to May 2024, but the lift still represents a tentative start to recovery.
Growth has been driven by standalone house consents, which have risen 1.0 percent pa in the year to August, and made up 46 percent of all dwelling consents. Apartment consents have risen 46 percent pa, but they only make up seven percent of all consents. Townhouses slipped a further 0.7 percent pa, and retirement village units fell 22 percent pa, 59% below their peak in the year to March 2023.
Most the of the apartment consents were issued for Auckland (212), followed by Manawatū-Whanganui (26). The strongest growth in standalone house consents was seen in Gisborne, Wellington, Otago, Southland, and Marlborough. House consents softened in Northland, Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki, West Coast and Tasman.
Dwelling consents are technically recovering, but it’s unlikely to feel like a recovery, with a modest uptick of 5.8 percent in August (seasonally adjusted) and an annual total still hovering around 34,000. Annual consents have been below 40,000 for nearly two years.
The resurgence in apartment consents isn’t enough to drag up attached dwelling consents, with townhouse consents remaining weak, and retirement consents remaining dire. Standalone housing consents are driving the recovery, with 5.8 percent growth in August (seasonally adjusted).
Nick Brunsdon from Infometrics said there doesn’t seem to be a pattern between the turnaround in consents and regional economic activity at present.
“Some of the strongest regional growth in consents has come from regions which have taken the greatest hits to employment, such as Auckland, Gisborne, Wellington, and Nelson,” he said.
Market expectations of aggressive cuts to the official cash rate by the end of the year appear positive for residential consents. However, housing market activity has been muted under still-low interest rates, and the number of existing houses on the market for sale remains elevated. Realestate.co.nz data indicates that house listings rose 2.3 percent in the year to September 2025, to a new 10-year high, contributing to a pullback in asking prices. With such a strong supply of existing houses, it seems unlikely that interest rate cuts will spur consenting on their own. Net migration also slipped to just 11,300 in the year to July 2025, so population growth is unlikely to promote consenting either.
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