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More houses and retirement units being consented but fewer apartments and townhouses

Property / analysis
More houses and retirement units being consented but fewer apartments and townhouses
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The third quarter (Q3) saw a big jump in the number of new dwellings consented, and also a big change in the type of dwellings consented.

According to Statistics NZ, 9176 new dwellings were consented in Q3 this year, barely changed from 9126 in Q3 last year, but up 9.8% compared to Q2 this year.

Q3 was also the second straight quarter the number of new homes consented has increased from the previous quarter, bringing an end to an 18 month run of declines in the number of new homes being consented.

However, the number of new homes being consented remains well down (-30.8%) from the quarterly peak of 13,251 homes consented in Q3 2021. And the estimated value of new residential construction work, excluding alterations, has declined from $5.494 billion to $4.142 billion (-24.6%) over the same period.

While the drop in residential consents that has occurred since late 2022 will be being felt across the building industry, the latest results do at least hold out the hope that the recent declines in new residential building work may have bottomed out.

It is not just the number of new homes being consented that has changed, there has also been some big changes in the types of homes being consented, with the latest figures showing fewer apartments and townhouses/units in the pipeline and more stand alone houses and retirement units.

The biggest surprise in the latest figures is for more stand alone houses after several years of declines in which multi-unit housing has provided most of the housing market's growth.

The latest figures show the number of stand alone houses being consented hit a recent low of 3447 in the first quarter of this year, then increased to 4031 in Q2 and 4485 in Q3, which was up by 17.7% compared to Q3 last year.

There was also a sharp increase in the number of retirement village units being consented, with 706 consented in Q3 this year, more than double the number consented in Q2, and up 32.7% compared to Q3 last year.

On the downside, the number of new apartments and townhouses/home units being consented remains in the doldrums.

Just 424 new apartments were consented throughout the country in Q3 this year. That's down 28% compared to Q3 last year, and down a whopping 69.3% compared to Q3 2022.

Interestingly, the size of the apartments being consented appears to be shrinking.

The average size of the new apartments consented in Q3 this year was 80 square metres, down from 86sqm in Q3 last year.

That was the smallest average floor area for new apartment consents in 13 years.

The number of townhouses/home units consented dropped to 3561 in Q3 this year, down by 19.7% compared to Q3 last year and -33% compared to Q3 2022.

The tables below show the number and value of new residential consents by dwelling type issued throughout the country, as well and their average size, value and the estimated value per square metre.

The same information is available for each of the main centres by clicking on the following links: Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Wellington Region, Canterbury and Otago.

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Quarterly New Dwelling Consent Analysis
By Dwelling Type
All of Aotearoa
Q1 2010 - Q3 2024
Total of All Dwelling Types
Quarter Total number consented Total value of work consented Total Floor area consented SQM Average value of work consented Average floor area per dwelling SQM Average value of work per SQM
2010Q1 3,918 $1,092,491,913 792,202 $278,839 202 $1,379
2010Q2 4,133 $1,148,506,538 830,045 $277,887 201 $1,384
2010Q3 3,964 $1,100,004,857 784,888 $277,499 198 $1,401
2010Q4 3,587 $999,613,297 705,989 $278,677 197 $1,416
2011Q1 2,927 $858,993,336 582,930 $293,472 199 $1,474
2011Q2 3,061 $847,171,715 583,881 $276,763 191 $1,451
2011Q3 3,925 $1,019,752,836 703,038 $259,810 179 $1,450
2011Q4 3,749 $1,091,966,848 747,677 $291,269 199 $1,460
2012Q1 3,861 $1,093,989,659 744,183 $283,344 193 $1,470
2012Q2 3,879 $1,134,677,550 765,836 $292,518 197 $1,482
2012Q3 4,511 $1,362,771,886 881,959 $302,100 196 $1,545
2012Q4 4,678 $1,411,595,059 945,714 $301,752 202 $1,493
2013Q1 4,329 $1,339,099,458 867,666 $309,332 200 $1,543
2013Q2 5,265 $1,596,397,974 1,007,775 $303,209 191 $1,584
2013Q3 5,503 $1,716,630,617 1,074,222 $311,945 195 $1,598
2013Q4 6,193 $1,847,297,697 1,135,898 $298,288 183 $1,626
2014Q1 5,411 $1,782,080,192 1,074,745 $329,344 199 $1,658
2014Q2 6,209 $1,934,894,380 1,161,058 $311,627 187 $1,666
2014Q3 6,326 $1,990,986,274 1,165,846 $314,731 184 $1,708
2014Q4 6,771 $2,140,559,192 1,222,174 $316,136 181 $1,751
2015Q1 5,732 $1,915,627,279 1,064,972 $334,199 186 $1,799
2015Q2 6,325 $2,035,139,405 1,143,236 $321,761 181 $1,780
2015Q3 7,357 $2,309,312,838 1,299,334 $313,893 177 $1,777
2015Q4 7,718 $2,536,419,254 1,347,660 $328,637 175 $1,882
2016Q1 6,389 $2,424,071,042 1,210,899 $379,413 190 $2,002
2016Q2 7,633 $2,630,820,634 1,410,083 $344,664 185 $1,866
2016Q3 8,259 $2,800,748,281 1,467,012 $339,115 178 $1,909
2016Q4 7,785 $2,791,931,153 1,382,396 $358,630 178 $2,020
2017Q1 6,949 $2,554,742,621 1,263,359 $367,642 182 $2,022
2017Q2 7,460 $2,746,384,272 1,317,109 $368,148 177 $2,085
2017Q3 8,698 $3,232,906,731 1,500,506 $371,684 173 $2,155
2017Q4 7,980 $2,941,283,967 1,412,185 $368,582 177 $2,083
2018Q1 7,254 $2,806,090,816 1,267,785 $386,834 175 $2,213
2018Q2 8,928 $3,146,324,707 1,475,414 $352,411 165 $2,133
2018Q3 8,386 $3,092,212,188 1,417,583 $368,735 169 $2,181
2018Q4 8,428 $3,136,411,674 1,434,370 $372,142 170 $2,187
2019Q1 8,774 $3,351,453,711 1,405,855 $381,976 160 $2,384
2019Q2 9,216 $3,459,449,473 1,467,721 $375,374 159 $2,357
2019Q3 10,032 $3,590,743,962 1,565,306 $357,929 156 $2,294
2019Q4 9,605 $3,494,329,054 1,507,169 $363,803 157 $2,318
2020Q1 8,764 $3,319,487,640 1,417,521 $378,764 162 $2,342
2020Q2 9,213 $3,362,933,232 1,430,076 $365,020 155 $2,352
2020Q3 10,152 $3,803,856,696 1,591,037 $374,690 157 $2,391
2020Q4 11,291 $4,046,563,050 1,719,604 $358,388 152 $2,353
2021Q1 10,376 $3,962,390,770 1,626,789 $381,880 157 $2,436
2021Q2 12,512 $4,777,119,299 1,946,523 $381,803 156 $2,454
2021Q3 13,251 $5,030,825,498 2,018,598 $379,656 152 $2,492
2021Q4 12,868 $5,040,786,327 1,945,056 $391,730 151 $2,592
2022Q1 12,333 $4,866,037,803 1,805,275 $394,554 146 $2,695
2022Q2 12,284 $5,049,928,794 1,821,211 $411,098 148 $2,773
2022Q3 13,247 $5,494,299,654 1,899,873 $414,758 143 $2,892
2022Q4 11,674 $4,821,832,632 1,647,052 $413,040 141 $2,928
2023Q1 9,720 $4,283,367,082 1,385,593 $440,676 143 $3,091
2023Q2 9,888 $4,347,071,458 1,391,619 $439,631 141 $3,124
2023Q3 9,126 $4,009,125,652 1,242,986 $439,308 136 $3,225
2023Q4 8,505 $3,819,890,023 1,182,806 $449,135 139 $3,230
2024Q1 7,717 $3,570,300,269 1,089,934 $462,654 141 $3,276
2024Q2 8,279 $3,858,708,958 1,178,818 $466,084 142 $3,273
2024Q3 9,176 $4,142,101,560 1,260,786 $451,406 137 $3,285
Stand Alone Houses
Quarter Total number consented Total value of work consented Total Floor area consented SQM Average value of work consented Average floor area per dwelling SQM Average value of work per SQM
2010Q1 3,371 $997,902,159 725,668 $296,026 215 $1,375
2010Q2 3,500 $1,043,317,799 753,175 $298,091 215 $1,385
2010Q3 3,301 $987,432,259 710,598 $299,131 215 $1,390
2010Q4 2,894 $895,845,104 632,756 $309,553 219 $1,416
2011Q1 2,384 $763,579,149 519,896 $320,293 218 $1,469
2011Q2 2,554 $758,001,633 533,518 $296,790 209 $1,421
2011Q3 3,092 $909,546,034 633,666 $294,161 205 $1,435
2011Q4 3,082 $952,971,793 663,143 $309,206 215 $1,437
2012Q1 3,119 $988,991,534 671,566 $317,086 215 $1,473
2012Q2 3,204 $1,016,933,842 685,813 $317,395 214 $1,483
2012Q3 3,578 $1,155,358,981 768,703 $322,906 215 $1,503
2012Q4 3,832 $1,263,470,516 831,347 $329,716 217 $1,520
2013Q1 3,707 $1,222,058,155 793,777 $329,662 214 $1,540
2013Q2 4,116 $1,364,717,911 873,821 $331,564 212 $1,562
2013Q3 4,452 $1,500,353,005 949,138 $337,007 213 $1,581
2013Q4 4,446 $1,559,207,398 960,050 $350,699 216 $1,624
2014Q1 4,477 $1,573,348,742 964,280 $351,429 215 $1,632
2014Q2 4,549 $1,613,159,179 966,198 $354,618 212 $1,670
2014Q3 4,559 $1,646,903,070 971,228 $361,242 213 $1,696
2014Q4 4,774 $1,726,095,848 1,009,981 $361,562 212 $1,709
2015Q1 4,130 $1,564,391,123 873,525 $378,787 212 $1,791
2015Q2 4,454 $1,634,053,834 931,211 $366,873 209 $1,755
2015Q3 5,197 $1,879,395,575 1,071,112 $361,631 206 $1,755
2015Q4 5,257 $1,958,094,444 1,095,821 $372,474 208 $1,787
2016Q1 4,813 $1,862,311,582 1,009,767 $386,934 210 $1,844
2016Q2 5,561 $2,108,614,716 1,154,815 $379,179 208 $1,826
2016Q3 5,668 $2,188,486,840 1,181,257 $386,113 208 $1,853
2016Q4 5,268 $2,084,388,108 1,100,829 $395,670 209 $1,893
2017Q1 4,937 $1,994,483,503 1,024,812 $403,987 208 $1,946
2017Q2 5,217 $2,075,096,529 1,068,790 $397,757 205 $1,942
2017Q3 5,768 $2,374,110,932 1,185,032 $411,600 205 $2,003
2017Q4 5,100 $2,180,579,964 1,076,735 $427,565 211 $2,025
2018Q1 4,797 $2,074,292,078 993,665 $432,414 207 $2,088
2018Q2 5,511 $2,305,565,827 1,102,455 $418,357 200 $2,091
2018Q3 5,284 $2,249,821,808 1,062,332 $425,780 201 $2,118
2018Q4 5,533 $2,336,204,320 1,096,679 $422,231 198 $2,130
2019Q1 5,288 $2,290,104,398 1,039,628 $433,076 197 $2,203
2019Q2 5,333 $2,329,805,563 1,051,290 $436,866 197 $2,216
2019Q3 5,803 $2,453,599,986 1,117,856 $422,816 193 $2,195
2019Q4 5,845 $2,504,148,682 1,111,880 $428,426 190 $2,252
2020Q1 5,310 $2,309,224,920 1,018,836 $434,882 192 $2,267
2020Q2 5,183 $2,226,878,229 993,413 $429,650 192 $2,242
2020Q3 5,790 $2,531,113,715 1,104,581 $437,153 191 $2,291
2020Q4 5,929 $2,636,003,782 1,150,621 $444,595 194 $2,291
2021Q1 5,873 $2,650,151,118 1,141,602 $451,243 194 $2,321
2021Q2 6,940 $3,216,118,276 1,347,374 $463,418 194 $2,387
2021Q3 6,721 $3,220,054,973 1,309,331 $479,104 195 $2,459
2021Q4 6,053 $3,037,854,669 1,187,325 $501,876 196 $2,559
2022Q1 5,688 $2,895,090,336 1,091,589 $508,982 192 $2,652
2022Q2 5,451 $2,934,759,116 1,076,636 $538,389 198 $2,726
2022Q3 5,505 $3,062,608,399 1,066,565 $556,332 194 $2,871
2022Q4 4,756 $2,648,348,382 902,571 $556,844 190 $2,934
2023Q1 3,956 $2,328,068,047 756,976 $588,490 191 $3,075
2023Q2 4,281 $2,373,950,140 788,108 $554,532 184 $3,012
2023Q3 3,626 $2,063,887,473 654,746 $569,191 181 $3,152
2023Q4 3,812 $2,142,616,418 686,832 $562,071 180 $3,120
2024Q1 3,447 $2,022,794,251 626,857 $586,827 182 $3,227
2024Q2 4,031 $2,325,741,989 724,299 $576,964 180 $3,211
2024Q3 4,485 $2,395,450,186 755,865 $534,103 169 $3,169
Apartments
Quarter Total number consented Total value of work consented Total Floor area consented SQM Average value of work consented Average floor area per dwelling SQM Average value of work per SQM
2010Q1 61 $11,246,698 6,549 $184,372 107 $1,717
2010Q2 83 $13,299,750 11,391 $160,238 137 $1,168
2010Q3 140 $29,725,000 9,866 $212,321 70 $3,013
2010Q4 185 $29,083,384 23,469 $157,207 127 $1,239
2011Q1 157 $34,049,000 18,610 $216,873 119 $1,830
2011Q2 59 $19,400,036 6,813 $328,814 115 $2,848
2011Q3 100 $14,860,500 6,491 $148,605 65 $2,289
2011Q4 144 $44,001,992 28,147 $305,569 195 $1,563
2012Q1 156 $18,213,000 13,077 $116,750 84 $1,393
2012Q2 147 $27,970,500 19,794 $190,276 135 $1,413
2012Q3 300 $100,434,500 39,761 $334,782 133 $2,526
2012Q4 113 $42,310,500 29,213 $374,429 259 $1,448
2013Q1 132 $22,619,119 13,830 $171,357 105 $1,636
2013Q2 332 $92,417,685 37,739 $278,367 114 $2,449
2013Q3 286 $77,689,465 31,033 $271,641 109 $2,503
2013Q4 801 $113,015,795 68,415 $141,093 85 $1,652
2014Q1 179 $69,131,850 27,617 $386,211 154 $2,503
2014Q2 515 $108,179,842 66,450 $210,058 129 $1,628
2014Q3 418 $85,094,700 38,565 $203,576 92 $2,207
2014Q4 609 $141,757,207 58,808 $232,770 97 $2,411
2015Q1 328 $76,784,346 43,585 $234,099 133 $1,762
2015Q2 652 $141,532,525 73,315 $217,074 112 $1,930
2015Q3 618 $92,795,200 61,612 $150,154 100 $1,506
2015Q4 941 $260,774,667 84,938 $277,125 90 $3,070
2016Q1 325 $241,019,707 56,358 $741,599 173 $4,277
2016Q2 377 $167,817,470 54,030 $445,139 143 $3,106
2016Q3 927 $234,313,654 88,751 $252,766 96 $2,640
2016Q4 774 $269,447,387 84,349 $348,123 109 $3,194
2017Q1 593 $218,568,676 68,992 $368,581 116 $3,168
2017Q2 619 $266,218,488 55,155 $430,078 89 $4,827
2017Q3 1,166 $415,423,419 113,245 $356,281 97 $3,668
2017Q4 861 $248,092,752 81,867 $288,145 95 $3,030
2018Q1 760 $249,254,350 73,314 $327,966 96 $3,400
2018Q2 1,135 $271,150,000 105,581 $238,899 93 $2,568
2018Q3 1,069 $290,224,850 102,512 $271,492 96 $2,831
2018Q4 587 $215,382,990 66,183 $366,922 113 $3,254
2019Q1 1,242 $522,571,147 120,681 $420,750 97 $4,330
2019Q2 1,212 $383,612,140 110,830 $316,512 91 $3,461
2019Q3 1,464 $392,754,512 135,199 $268,275 92 $2,905
2019Q4 844 $258,514,460 80,605 $306,297 96 $3,207
2020Q1 766 $310,846,352 90,281 $405,805 118 $3,443
2020Q2 862 $335,007,374 94,653 $388,640 110 $3,539
2020Q3 896 $364,397,124 86,798 $406,693 97 $4,198
2020Q4 1,215 $374,648,195 117,562 $308,352 97 $3,187
2021Q1 928 $397,004,297 90,156 $427,806 97 $4,404
2021Q2 1,126 $438,575,528 117,483 $389,499 104 $3,733
2021Q3 924 $267,049,871 85,768 $289,015 93 $3,114
2021Q4 1,218 $384,462,899 113,986 $315,651 94 $3,373
2022Q1 1,041 $328,837,038 93,701 $315,886 90 $3,509
2022Q2 730 $338,896,008 62,665 $464,241 86 $5,408
2022Q3 1,383 $512,606,070 136,508 $370,648 99 $3,755
2022Q4 1,234 $414,011,693 114,923 $335,504 93 $3,603
2023Q1 876 $417,226,583 88,591 $476,286 101 $4,710
2023Q2 528 $270,328,014 60,828 $511,985 115 $4,444
2023Q3 589 $272,481,466 50,539 $462,617 86 $5,392
2023Q4 525 $298,771,425 47,252 $569,088 90 $6,323
2024Q1 546 $252,443,641 53,004 $462,351 97 $4,763
2024Q2 282 $190,070,969 33,244 $674,011 118 $5,717
2024Q3 424 $207,577,458 33,766 $489,569 80 $6,148
Retirement village units
Quarter Total number consented Total value of work consented Total Floor area consented SQM Average value of work consented Average floor area per dwelling SQM Average value of work per SQM
2010Q1 113 $20,523,832 15,345 $181,627 136 $1,337
2010Q2 238 $42,707,247 28,382 $179,442 119 $1,505
2010Q3 251 $42,514,873 31,262 $169,382 125 $1,360
2010Q4 233 $33,407,571 21,295 $143,380 91 $1,569
2011Q1 107 $15,869,449 12,224 $148,313 114 $1,298
2011Q2 197 $34,697,022 17,475 $176,127 89 $1,986
2011Q3 439 $52,083,099 30,956 $118,640 71 $1,682
2011Q4 324 $65,722,179 34,799 $202,846 107 $1,889
2012Q1 377 $56,710,790 34,352 $150,426 91 $1,651
2012Q2 282 $50,365,998 32,749 $178,603 116 $1,538
2012Q3 351 $61,319,757 38,761 $174,700 110 $1,582
2012Q4 370 $50,148,036 43,815 $135,535 118 $1,145
2013Q1 246 $51,894,685 31,771 $210,954 129 $1,633
2013Q2 389 $62,404,127 48,428 $160,422 124 $1,289
2013Q3 348 $66,645,255 47,375 $191,509 136 $1,407
2013Q4 324 $62,882,282 36,515 $194,081 113 $1,722
2014Q1 286 $56,449,957 32,329 $197,377 113 $1,746
2014Q2 449 $85,831,564 54,390 $191,162 121 $1,578
2014Q3 631 $116,701,175 71,840 $184,946 114 $1,624
2014Q4 551 $103,750,685 64,270 $188,295 117 $1,614
2015Q1 361 $84,042,669 43,733 $232,805 121 $1,922
2015Q2 392 $70,904,612 41,048 $180,879 105 $1,727
2015Q3 489 $92,469,516 44,873 $189,099 92 $2,061
2015Q4 657 $126,880,302 71,164 $193,121 108 $1,783
2016Q1 391 $136,911,911 45,482 $350,158 116 $3,010
2016Q2 669 $127,047,021 80,364 $189,906 120 $1,581
2016Q3 320 $64,392,898 35,259 $201,228 110 $1,826
2016Q4 572 $177,136,493 59,568 $309,679 104 $2,974
2017Q1 354 $94,036,517 43,711 $265,640 123 $2,151
2017Q2 405 $122,657,441 51,466 $302,858 127 $2,383
2017Q3 525 $153,918,726 63,928 $293,179 122 $2,408
2017Q4 667 $168,672,516 96,908 $252,882 145 $1,741
2018Q1 220 $101,814,784 27,263 $462,794 124 $3,735
2018Q2 590 $149,220,405 69,078 $252,916 117 $2,160
2018Q3 495 $166,092,309 64,783 $335,540 131 $2,564
2018Q4 524 $147,712,698 61,298 $281,894 117 $2,410
2019Q1 658 $154,384,077 67,895 $234,626 103 $2,274
2019Q2 567 $212,081,360 68,560 $374,041 121 $3,093
2019Q3 561 $205,458,373 69,562 $366,236 124 $2,954
2019Q4 602 $153,808,464 75,471 $255,496 125 $2,038
2020Q1 453 $124,644,099 58,154 $275,153 128 $2,143
2020Q2 548 $179,439,184 65,978 $327,444 120 $2,720
2020Q3 356 $118,239,130 42,753 $332,132 120 $2,766
2020Q4 509 $162,495,981 59,544 $319,246 117 $2,729
2021Q1 553 $142,227,941 64,012 $257,193 116 $2,222
2021Q2 675 $204,621,958 81,917 $303,144 121 $2,498
2021Q3 889 $322,875,345 112,477 $363,189 127 $2,871
2021Q4 753 $260,637,464 98,261 $346,132 130 $2,653
2022Q1 575 $230,429,274 78,505 $400,747 137 $2,935
2022Q2 509 $162,157,009 69,467 $318,580 136 $2,334
2022Q3 1,047 $369,643,212 113,916 $353,050 109 $3,245
2022Q4 826 $312,626,286 104,746 $378,482 127 $2,985
2023Q1 920 $324,450,915 114,912 $352,664 125 $2,823
2023Q2 467 $204,257,521 56,560 $437,382 121 $3,611
2023Q3 475 $201,298,484 54,242 $423,786 114 $3,711
2023Q4 405 $155,524,891 51,882 $384,012 128 $2,998
2024Q1 369 $147,673,157 39,434 $400,198 107 $3,745
2024Q2 350 $193,168,250 46,436 $551,909 133 $4,160
2024Q3 706 $355,277,725 90,967 $503,226 129 $3,906
Townhouses & Home Units
Quarter Total number consented Total value of work consented Total Floor area consented SQM Average value of work consented Average floor area per dwelling SQM Average value of work per SQM
2010Q1 373 $62,819,224 44,640 $168,416 120 $1,407
2010Q2 312 $49,181,742 37,097 $157,634 119 $1,326
2010Q3 272 $40,332,725 33,162 $148,282 122 $1,216
2010Q4 275 $41,277,238 28,469 $150,099 104 $1,450
2011Q1 279 $45,495,738 32,200 $163,067 115 $1,413
2011Q2 251 $35,073,024 26,075 $139,733 104 $1,345
2011Q3 294 $43,263,203 31,925 $147,154 109 $1,355
2011Q4 199 $29,270,884 21,588 $147,090 108 $1,356
2012Q1 209 $30,074,335 25,188 $143,896 121 $1,194
2012Q2 246 $39,407,210 27,480 $160,192 112 $1,434
2012Q3 282 $45,658,648 34,734 $161,910 123 $1,315
2012Q4 363 $55,666,007 41,339 $153,350 114 $1,347
2013Q1 244 $42,527,499 28,288 $174,293 116 $1,503
2013Q2 428 $76,858,251 47,787 $179,575 112 $1,608
2013Q3 417 $71,942,892 46,676 $172,525 112 $1,541
2013Q4 622 $112,192,222 70,918 $180,373 114 $1,582
2014Q1 469 $83,149,643 50,519 $177,291 108 $1,646
2014Q2 696 $127,723,795 74,020 $183,511 106 $1,726
2014Q3 718 $142,287,329 84,213 $198,172 117 $1,690
2014Q4 837 $168,955,452 89,115 $201,858 106 $1,896
2015Q1 913 $190,409,141 104,129 $208,553 114 $1,829
2015Q2 827 $188,648,434 97,662 $228,112 118 $1,932
2015Q3 1,053 $244,652,547 121,737 $232,339 116 $2,010
2015Q4 863 $190,669,841 95,737 $220,938 111 $1,992
2016Q1 860 $183,827,842 99,292 $213,753 115 $1,851
2016Q2 1,026 $227,341,427 120,874 $221,580 118 $1,881
2016Q3 1,344 $313,554,889 161,745 $233,300 120 $1,939
2016Q4 1,171 $260,959,165 137,650 $222,852 118 $1,896
2017Q1 1,065 $247,653,925 125,844 $232,539 118 $1,968
2017Q2 1,219 $282,411,814 141,698 $231,675 116 $1,993
2017Q3 1,239 $289,453,654 138,301 $233,619 112 $2,093
2017Q4 1,352 $343,938,735 156,675 $254,393 116 $2,195
2018Q1 1,477 $380,729,604 173,543 $257,772 117 $2,194
2018Q2 1,692 $420,388,475 198,300 $248,457 117 $2,120
2018Q3 1,538 $386,073,221 187,956 $251,023 122 $2,054
2018Q4 1,784 $437,111,666 210,210 $245,018 118 $2,079
2019Q1 1,586 $384,394,089 177,651 $242,367 112 $2,164
2019Q2 2,104 $533,950,410 237,041 $253,779 113 $2,253
2019Q3 2,204 $538,931,091 242,689 $244,524 110 $2,221
2019Q4 2,314 $577,857,448 239,213 $249,722 103 $2,416
2020Q1 2,235 $574,772,269 250,250 $257,169 112 $2,297
2020Q2 2,620 $621,608,445 276,032 $237,255 105 $2,252
2020Q3 3,110 $790,106,727 356,905 $254,054 115 $2,214
2020Q4 3,638 $873,415,092 391,877 $240,081 108 $2,229
2021Q1 3,022 $773,007,414 331,019 $255,793 110 $2,335
2021Q2 3,771 $917,803,537 399,749 $243,385 106 $2,296
2021Q3 4,717 $1,220,845,309 511,022 $258,818 108 $2,389
2021Q4 4,844 $1,357,831,295 545,484 $280,312 113 $2,489
2022Q1 5,029 $1,411,681,155 541,480 $280,708 108 $2,607
2022Q2 5,594 $1,614,116,661 612,443 $288,544 109 $2,636
2022Q3 5,312 $1,549,441,973 582,884 $291,687 110 $2,658
2022Q4 4,858 $1,446,846,271 524,812 $297,828 108 $2,757
2023Q1 3,968 $1,213,621,537 425,114 $305,852 107 $2,855
2023Q2 4,612 $1,498,535,783 486,123 $324,921 105 $3,083
2023Q3 4,436 $1,471,458,229 483,459 $331,708 109 $3,044
2023Q4 3,763 $1,222,977,289 396,840 $325,001 105 $3,082
2024Q1 3,355 $1,147,389,220 370,639 $341,994 110 $3,096
2024Q2 3,616 $1,149,727,750 374,839 $317,956 104 $3,067
2024Q3 3,561 $1,183,796,191 380,188 $332,434 107 $3,114
Note: All calculations based on Statistics NZ building consent data.

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40 Comments

The optimism of developers is both admirable and concerning. I know many who expect a big surge in demand mid to late 2025, on the basis of lower interest rates. And hence have been getting developments consented now.

Yet, in my view retail interest rates will need to be well south of 4.5% to meaningfully stimulate demand, especially given cost escalation over the past 2-3 years and therefore the pricepoints that developers will need to sell product at to be profitable. There is far from any guarantee that interest rates will be less than 5%, let alone less than 4.5%. 
There’s also a big overhang of newbuild stock.

So good luck to the many developers who will be trying to sell off plans over the coming year!

 

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I reckon . Again 

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Would you like to provide your informed view.

whoooops, I must have forgotten that you are a troll that never has anything meaningful to say other than to troll me for no obvious reason 😂😂😂

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I must have forgotten that you are a troll

Huh?  I thought he was a horse!  (Mister Ed - Wikipedia)

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Signs of housebuilding activity stabilising at more or less pre-Covid levels isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The frenzy that came between 2020 and 2023 was unsustainable anyways, as reflected in construction inflation over the period. Most of the houses planned and built over that 2-3-yr period can be characterised as grossly overpriced shoeboxes in crappy neighbourhood.

Dozens of 65m2 2-bdr townhouses with zero outdoor space close to a major stream and across the street from a liquor store in a decile 2 school zone in Wainuiomata selling for 725k... no, thank you!

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Stream views?

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Well yep, zero land, no balconies, no parking, squashed into a 900sqm section with 8 others on it in an unattractive suburb is going to do that. Gravy train is over. The market wants higher quality properties with all the trimmings and people will pay for them. goodbye 50's state homes and hello something else mumble mumble leaky home with walk in garage that will flood in 2 years

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You forgot the 3 month warranty on all Balsa Wood used in construction. 

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Exactly,  It’s disheartening to see these so- called ‘new builds” crammed onto tiny sections with no balconies, no parking, and minimal quality.
Little space, zero privacy, and it all screams potential market slump down the line. Best to steer clear.

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well those new builds are at a higher standard than the 80's and possibly the 60's - given they are double glazed, insulated, have allowed for more wiring and plumbing for modern standards.   The reality is that a younger generation doesn't want what I (and possibly  you) wanted.

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It's a newer standard, I wouldn't necessarily say "higher".

Just as a new fridge has modern LED lights, no CFCs, and better energy efficiency, but it's ultimately of inferior quality to one made in the 60s.

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Pa1nter: "Just as a new fridge has modern LED lights, no CFCs, and better energy efficiency, but it's ultimately of inferior quality to one made in the 60s."?

Seriously? Crappiest analogy ... EVER.

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Not really. You'd buy an appliance (or house, or car), and provided maintenance is done, the items lasted decades. Now the componentry is of such low grade materials, some basic component will shit itself, repair is unviable, and you basically throw it away and buy a new one.

Just as double glazing sounds better, but the quality of the materials in and around it are of diminishing quality - unless you're prepared to spend some serious money. Usually at least double.

My preference is for items that last a very long time, at the expense of bleeding edge standards. I think if we're going to the ecological expense of digging all this stuff out of the ground, burning some of it in the manufacturing process, etc, we might as well make something we don't have to replace anytime soon.

Less money to be made doing it that way though.

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Bought an old second hand dryer(basic Fisher and Paykel 90's version) 15 years ago for $100., still in regular use, must be 30 years old. Been through 3 new washers in 10 years. Anecdote supports your observations. 

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In the housing realm, even something simple like a roof has deteriorated in material quality over the years. New roof iron is very thin as standard, dents up pretty easily. The old stuff was much thicker gauge and you can run up and down it like it's a trampoline and it'll stand up.

The new stuff has a nicer finish, and is lighter. But also less durable. Did we gain, or lose?

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Yes and no. The average Joe Blogs will not be aware that there a two thicknesses available for long run one is ~0.35mm and the other 0.55mm which helps with rigidity on the same purlin span and spacing as well as life. Don't recall the cost difference but the roofer is highly unlikely to quote the thicker option as it will disadvantage him. Tiles have become thinner and don't know if thicker are available.

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Built in obsolescence is a feature not a bug.  Appliances are deliberately designed and manufactured to fail within a short time.  Just like modern townhouses - developers only need the place to last as long as the warranty period, after that when it becomes a derelict dump, they can just sell some more new builds to people. 

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Working in central Wellington at the moment. I see a lot of derelict dumps, both commercial and residential, built early - mid 1900's. Is this the fault of the builder or lack of maintenance by the landlords?

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The issue with modern appliance is it only takes one small fault to warrant the appliance redundant. It was going to cost me $500 to get my rangehood lights working. They’re LED. Not replaceable lights. Needed an electrician, 2 call-outs plus the control module. Back in the day it was a generic $5 light bulb. 

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Yep. We think we own a lot of stuff, but much of it we're only renting, for as long as the manufacturer wants us to.

But my vacuum now has wifi.

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Double glazing and insulation sound great, but they don’t mean much when the overall build quality is poor. Many homes today are put up by workers who just don’t care about craftsmanship the way they did in the 60s and 80s. We could be looking at a leaky home crisis 2.0 in the next decade.

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Maybe not leaky homes (we're building less stupid designs that lack eaves or have internal gutters). But some of them are going to look pretty tatty in years to come (some arguably look tatty the day they're finished).

But yes would have to agree that there's a large cadre of people working on houses/construction who aren't really invested in making something as good as practically possible. Just the act of managing to assemble something is deemed a job done, whether it's done well or not doesn't seem to be at the forefront.

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As someone who regularly renovates older homes I can tell you that a lot of the old time builders had a whole lot of different short cuts that we couldn't get away with now, even if we wanted too.

Old houses leak, the materials used could handle being wet better than what is forced upon us today.

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Old houses have centuries-old native timbers which will hold up to weather without treatment far better then what we get today.

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This is not the bottom.

It’s uneconomic to build so one or more of the influencing variables need to change and so far they have continued to get worse.

Many of these resource consents will be to lower the spec or increase density because of the increasing costs. I.e they will be trying to make the project feasible.

 

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I would argue the opposite - the big difference is land value. And with when land bankers start off-loading sites at a price that reflects the current market value, then building consents will continue.   I think that we have grown the construction industry greatly - something like doubling the capacity. And many of those builders might look at building a speculative home rather than bidding for the limited amount of work at discount rates. 

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How many of them have the capital to fund that process? or did that go into the Ranger that they need to tow the boat,back when things were booming and you couldn't find a builder without a 6month wait.

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The builder that I know has been doing spec build for many years has stopped doing them. The last one he broke even on and it’s just not worth the risk now.

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Yeah any builder I know who depended on this is in trouble. As are group house builders. But anyone commercial, or smaller independent house builders seem pretty chocka.

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It’s a very good point. Plenty of projects are being redesigned and reconsented to try, in vain, to make them stack up

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"If the lands wrong, everything's wrong", someone once said.

As for the it's 'uneconomic to build' - it should be more expensive to build new vs buy second hand.  New houses used to be built by builders for those with the $ to do so and it showed with all the storage spaces etc in the older houses.

It is only our population growth that meant all these 'cookie cutter developers' came into prominence.  Re price the land and then see if building is possible and that is before any trimming of building supplies and labour costs.

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Its because Labour got the incentives around the wrong way.  Instead of encouraging owner occupiers to build new houses, they incentivised investors.  So the end result is that builders built cheap, nasty crap for investors who dont care about the quality of the homes they are stuffing renters into.  

Countries like Australia incentivise first home buyers into new builds through grants and tax exemptions  - and the result is that apartments are designed for owner occupiers and not investors, and large numbers of standalone house & land packages are sold.  As first home buyers move into those new builds, they free up their older (and much cheaper) housing for investors.  This is how it should work.

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That's the angle I was trying to put across with the storage spaces comment - building homes that people wanted to live in as opposed to investments to rent/flick.  The incentives are quite different although I would still have population growth running hot (under all govts) as a significant driver.

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The issue we face is how many people do you know in construction? Most of them don’t have transferable skills, they’ve invested so much of life investing in training/tools/work vehicles. Where will these tradies end up? Many to Australia, but many of the older tradies (35+) will likely want to stay put for family reasons

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Most of them don’t have transferable skills

This is nonsense in so far as it's a real problem.  If someone has managed to learn one trade, they certainly could learn something else.

I'd agree that as a society we're making it very hard for people to swap vocations.  They shouldn't expect the same pay when they swap either.

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This is nonsense in so far as it's a real problem.  If someone has managed to learn one trade, they certainly could learn something else.

I started my working life in the trades. I learnt how to approach tasks and projects methodically, develop the most efficient method, and understand the nuts and bolts of the costings vs. the final price. That tradesman like approach served  me pretty well in a corporate office environment, and in establishing new, non related businesses.

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Maybe I’ll articulate myself better. They’ve got transferable skills but the pay rate and start up investment isn’t transferable 

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Ah okay re skills.  I wouldn't expect the pay rate and start up investment to carry over into a different line of work (depending on what it is obviously).

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One builder I know has left the trade and is now working for an insurance company. 

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Insurance Remidiel work on the homes he built?

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