16,000 fewer new homes consented in year to February compared to same period of 2022

Residential and commercial building consents both continue to decline

Property / news

Residential and commercial building consents both continue to decline

2nd Apr 25, 3:22pm by Greg Ninness

The number of new homes being consented continues to decline, with 33,595 new dwellings consented in the 12 months to February this year, down by 2681 (-7.4%) compared to the previous 12 months, according to Statistics NZ.

The number of homes consented has now declined for three years in a row, from 49,883 in the 12 months to February 2022, to 33,595 in the 12 months to February this year, a decline of 16,288 (-32.7%) compared to three years ago.

The estimated value of that building work has declined by $3.93 billion over the same period, from $19.27 billion in the 12 months to February 2022 to $15.34 billion in the 12 months to February this year.

However, the rate of decline has slowed, with the number of new dwelling consents issued declining by 7.4% in the 12 months to February this year compared to a drop of -24.8% in the previous 12 months.

The biggest percentage declines in consents over the year to February were for apartments, -19.8% compared to the previous 12 months, followed by townhouses and home units -14.8%, and retirement village units -6.5%.

Consents for stand alone houses showed a slight increase, up by 2.3% in the year to February compared to the previous 12 months.

The volume of non-residential building work, which covers everything from shops and offices to schools and hospitals, is also in decline.

The total value of non-residential work consented dropped from $9.91 billion in the 12 months to February last year, to $8.79 billion in the 12 months to February this year, a decline of $1.11 billion, (-11.2%).

The total floor area of non-residential building work consented was 2,132,000 square metres in the 12 months to February this year, down by 586,000 square metres (-21.6%) compared to the previous 12 months.

The interactive graph below shows the monthly long term trend in residential building consents by dwelling type.

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Building consents - type

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Source: Statistics NZ

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3 Comments

by live4ever | 2nd Apr 25, 8:53pm 1743580424

I'm a landlord but even I can see that this is really, really bad for New Zealand, our kids and our society. We are still one of the world's most overpriced housing markets and this government's policies are pulling the brakes on housing supply.

Totally the wrong direction.

by Property Leader | 3rd Apr 25, 9:28am 1743625715

I think the crash in building consents for appartments is not landlords pulling back. If you look carefully at the tiny notes at the bottom of the stats department spreadsheet it includes retirement units. Building new retirement units is on pause because the old people cannot sell their old homes.

Despite the half hearted efforts of the government to permit intensification we are still waiting for the NIMBY’s to die off.

by Greg Ninness | 3rd Apr 25, 9:43am 1743626586

Retirement village units are recorded separately to other types of housing in the consent data. This is noted in the story above: "The biggest percentage declines in consents over the year to February were for apartments, -19.8% compared to the previous 12 months, followed by townhouses and home units -14.8%, and retirement village units -6.5%."