Latest building consent figures suggest good growth in residential construction - not so good for commercial building work

The number of new homes being consented continues to rise, suggesting a recovery in residential construction is now well underway.

According to Statistics NZ, 41,091 new dwellings throughout the country were consented in the 12 months to September, which was up 17.8% compared to the previous 12 months and was the most residential consents issued in the 12 months to September since 2022 - see the first interactive chart below for the regional figures.

The latest annual lift in consent numbers followed a 3.6% increase in the 12 months to September 2025, suggesting the growth in consent numbers is being sustained.

Stand alone houses remain the most popular type of new dwelling, with 19,228 consented in the 12 months to September, followed by 17,756 townhouses, 2356 apartments and 1751 retirement village units.

Apartments were the only category of dwelling to show an annual decline in number, with 10.7% fewer apartments consented in the year to September 2026 compared to the previous 12 months - see the second interactive chart below for the monthly trends in the types of dwellings being consented.

Consents for structural alterations to existing dwellings are also up, having risen 1.4% in the 12 months to September compared to the previous year.

The total value of residential building work consented in the 12 months to September was $20.749, a solid rise of 15.2% on the previous 12 months.

However the value of non-residential building work being consented remains on a downward slide.

The total value of non-residential work consented in the 12 months to September was $8.717b, down 3.1% compared to the previous 12 months.

That was the third annual decline in the value of non-residential consents which is now at its lowest level for the September year since 2021.

The biggest annual declines in the value of non-residential consents in the year to September compared to the previous 12 months were for factories and industrial buildings -27.6%, followed by office buildings -20.5%, hospitals and nursing homes -13.7%, social and cultural buildings -10.8%, retail premises -0.9% and warehouses -0.2%.

That was partially offset by a 29.7% annual increase in the value of consents for hotels/motels, an 11.9% increase in consents for educational buildings and a 38% annual increase for farm buildings.

Overall, the total value of residential and non-residential building work consented in the year to September was $29.466b, up 9.1% on the previous 12 months.