The number of new homes being consented has declined by a third over the last two years

The number of building consents issued for new homes was at a six year low in the 12 months to November.

According to Statistics NZ, 33,609 building consents were issued for new dwellings in the year to November, down from 38,209 (-12.0%) in the year to November 2023 and down from 50,209 (-33.1%) compared to the year to November 2022.

That means the number of new dwellings consented has declined by a third over the two years to November, and is now at its lowest point for that period since 2018.

The decline has affected all dwelling types, with consents for new apartments down -58.8% over the last two years, followed by retirement village units -41.7%, townhouses and home units -32.2% and stand alone houses -27.6%.

The total estimated value of building work consented (excluding the cost of land) for new dwellings consented in the 12 months to November this year was $15.33 billion,  down -24.9% compared to two years ago.

Around the main urban regions, new dwelling consents in the year to November were down -36% in Auckland compared to two years previously, -41% in Waikato, -23.5% in Bay of Plenty, -51.7% in Wellington Region, -26.7% in Canterbury and -8.3% in Otago.

The decline in planned building work didn't just affect residential construction, the total floor area of new, non-residential buildings consented, declined from 3,139,000 square metres in the year to November 2022, to 2,730,000 in the year to November 2023 and 2,234,000 in the year to November 2024, a decline of 28.8% over the last two years.

The two interactive charts below show the monthly trends in residential consents.