The number of new homes consented across New Zealand has fallen by over a quarter, over the past year, with new apartment consents falling 43%.
There were 37,239 new homes consented in the year ending December 2023, less than three quarters of the amount consented during 2022, according to figures released by Stats NZ.
“The number of homes consented in 2023 was down from 49,538 in 2022, which was the highest number in a calendar year since records began,” construction and property statistics manager Michael Heslop said.
In 2023, there were 21,564 multi-unit homes consented, down 23 percent compared with the previous year. Multi-unit homes include townhouses, apartments, retirement village units, and flats. Of the multi-unit homes consented in the year ended December 2023, there were:
- 16,779 townhouses, flats, and units (down 19% compared with 2022)
- 2,518 apartments (down 43%)
- 2,267 retirement village units (down 23%)
“The number of apartments consented in 2023 was the lowest since 2016 when 2,403 were consented,” said Heslop.
In 2023, there were 15,675 stand-alone houses consented, down 27% compared with 2022.
Home consents down in both North and South Islands
There were 26,881 new homes consented in the North Island throughout 2023, down 26 percent compared with the year ending December 2022. The 10,357 new homes consented in the South Island, was down 22% compared with the same period.
By the end of December 2023, there were 16,791 multi-unit homes consented in the North Island, down 26% compared with the previous year. There were 10,090 stand-alone houses consented, down 25%.
The number of stand-alone houses receiving building consent in the South Island was down 30%, to 5,585 and 4,772 multi-unit homes dropped 10%.
“In the South Island, the fall in the number of stand-alone houses consented was larger than the fall in multi-unit homes, which closed the gap between the two,” Heslop said. “However, stand-alone houses remained the most common type of home consented in the South Island in 2023.”
Regional breakdown
In the year ended December 2023, all regions except Gisborne and Hawkes Bay consented fewer new homes compared with 2022.
The four regions with the highest number of new homes consented in 2023 were:
- Auckland with 15,488 (down 27% compared with 2022)
- Canterbury with 6,959 (down 22%)
- Waikato with 3,548 (down 25%)
- Wellington with 2,427 (down 37%)
Homes consented per 1,000 residents down in 2023
In the year ended December 2023, the number of new homes consented per 1,000 residents in New Zealand was 7.2, compared with 9.7 in the year ended December 2022.
“In 2023, Canterbury was the region with the most homes consented per 1,000 residents at 10.4, followed by Auckland at 8.9,” Heslop said.
Quarterly number of homes consented down 27%
There were 8,505 new homes consented in the December 2023 quarter, down 27 percent compared with the December 2022 quarter.
In seasonally adjusted terms, the number of new homes in the December 2023 quarter fell 3.4%, compared with the September 2023 quarter. This follows a seasonally adjusted fall of 13% in the September 2023 quarter.
