Stand alone housing is the most popular type of housing but survey finds two-thirds of young people would consider living in an apartment

A stand alone house on its own section remains New Zealand's most popular type of housing but other types of housing are also proving popular.

The New Zealand Housing Survey* (see note below), conducted by urban planning consultancy The Urban Advisory Ltd, found while 79% of respondents said they would consider living in a stand alone house, 58.5% said they would also consider living in a townhouse, or some other type of semi-detached house, even though only 35.5% of people had ever lived in a townhouse previously.

A third of respondents said they would consider living in an apartment. However, among respondents under 35 years of age, 67% would consider living an apartment building up to three storeys high, and 47% said they would consider living in a high rise apartment.

Alternative ownership models also found significant support, with 57% saying they supported the concept of co-housing, 34% supporting rent-to-buy, 32% residential co-operatives, 29% community land trusts, 23% shared ownership and 19% build-to-rent.

The results suggested that while the traditional kiwi dream of a stand alone house with a garden, parking and room to grow was still very much alive and kicking, attitudes were changing, particularly among younger people.

*Note: The NZ Housing Housing Survey is an opt-in, online survey, promoted through organic social media and direct email marketing to community groups. There were 2587 respondents between August 2024 and February 2025 and 65% of respondents were female. The median household income of respondents was $100,001 to $150,000. A summary of the survey results is available here.