Photo: Supplied/ Unsplash - Josh Olalde
- September monthly residential building consents best in two years.
- Annual issuance perks up, possible turning point.
- Town houses, units, and standalone houses in favour.
- Strong rebound Auckland, Otago, Wellington.
- Market still well below record 50,000 plus of 2022.
The house building market is showing tentative signs of recovery with the best monthly and annual numbers in two years for consents issued.
Stats NZ data showed 34,882 residential consents issued in the year ended September, up 3.6 percent from the previous year, and 3339 for the month - the best since mid-2023.
"Residential construction has declined in recent years, but home consents have been trending up through 2025 and have strengthened in recent months, suggesting a possible lift in future building activity," economic indicators spokesperson Michelle Feyen said.
In the year to September, 34,882 new homes were consented, up 3.6 percent compared to the year ended September 2024.
Consents for multi-unit houses, including townhouses, units and apartments, were the biggest category followed by standalone houses.
Auckland and Otago contributed to most of the annual increase in consented multi-unit homes, with Wellington also rising.
The government has recently freed up rules for buildings, scrapping the need for a consent for small structures such as granny flat up to 70 square metres, and has mooted freeing up the building consent process to reduce processing time, allow for self certification of some work by trades people, and greater standardisation of standards between councils.
However, Gareth Kiernan, chief forecaster at consultancy Infometrics, remained cautious.
"We remain of the view that there is a speculative element that will see residential consent numbers continue to increase over the next year, encouraged by lower interest rates and improving economic growth.
"The lift is at odds with weak net migration and sluggish house prices, although there is a risk that property values start to lift in response to lower mortgage rates, which would help cement a more robust upturn in residential consents during 2026."
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