The figure has consistently dropped since its peak in 2022
New Zealand is experiencing a significant downturn in home consents, with 38,209 new homes consented in the year ending November, a decrease of 24% compared to the preceding year, according to Stats NZ.
Michael Heslop, Stats NZ construction and property statistics manager, said the annual number of new homes consented has persistently decreased since its peak of 51,015 in the year ending May 2022.
The overall decrease is reflected in both stand-alone houses and multi-unit homes, which include townhouses, apartments, retirement village units, and flats, which were down 27% and 22%, respectively. In the year ended November, there were 22,251 multi-unit homes and 15,958 stand-alone houses consented.
Over that period, the multi-unit homes consented consisted of 17,033 townhouses, flats, and units (down 19% compared with the year ended November 2022), 2,817 apartments (-35%), and 2,401 retirement village units (-19%).
“In the year ended November 2023 the number of townhouses, flats, and units consented was higher than the number of stand-alone houses,” Heslop said.
Most common type of home consented in Auckland
Heslop said that at the national level, the annual number of townhouses, flats, and units consented exceeded stand-alone houses for the first time in the year ending March. However, in Auckland, this trend has been evident since the year ending November 2020.
“In the year ended November 2023, the number of townhouses, flats, and units consented in Auckland was more than double the number of stand-alone houses consented,” Heslop said.
In the Auckland region for the year ending November, there were 9,427 townhouses, flats, and units consented, reflecting a 26% decrease compared to the year ending November 2022. Also consented were 4,122 stand-alone houses (-18%), 1,724 apartments, (-45%), and 599 retirement village units (-26%).
Regional breakdown
Most regions, except Gisborne and Marlborough, witnessed a decline in new home consents in the year ending November. Auckland led the consents with 15,872 (down 27% compared with the year ended November 2022). This was followed by Canterbury with 7,158 (-19%), Waikato with 3,589 (-26%), and Wellington with 2,743 (-28%).
Home consents decreased in November
In November alone, there were 2,958 new homes consented, marking a significant decrease compared to November 2022.
During the month, consents for stand-alone houses decreased by 20% compared to November, amounting to 1,462. Consents for multi-unit homes also decreased, down by 47% over the same period, totalling 1,496.
In seasonally adjusted terms, the number of new homes consented in November witnessed an 11% decline compared to October. This comes after a seasonally adjusted increase of 8.5% in October, Stats NZ reported.
To compare with previous consent numbers click here, and here.
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