Building consents issued: March 2023
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Building consents issued: March 2023
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Key facts
- In March 2023, the seasonally adjusted number of new dwellings consented rose 7.0 percent, after falling 9.4 percent in February 2023.
- In the year ended March 2023, the actual number of new dwellings consented was 46,924, down 7.9 percent from the year ended March 2022.
- The annual value of non-residential building work consented was $9.6 billion, up 11 percent from the year ended March 2022.
- In the year ended March 2023, the number of new dwellings consented per 1,000 residents was 9.2, compared with 10 in the year ended March 2022.
New dwellings consented
In March 2023, there were 3,970 new dwellings consented, comprising:
- 1,820 townhouses, flats, and units
- 1,586 stand-alone houses
- 327 apartments
- 237 retirement village units.
The number of dwellings consented each month can vary significantly due to the timing of large multi-dwelling projects, such as townhouses and apartment buildings.
The seasonally adjusted number of new stand-alone houses consented rose 0.2 percent, after falling 3.5 percent in February 2023.
In the March 2023 quarter, the seasonally adjusted number of new homes consented fell 8.4 percent, after falling 9.2 percent in the December 2022 quarter.
Regional new dwellings consented
By region, the numbers of new dwellings consented in the year ended March 2023 (compared with the year ended March 2022) were:
- 20,312 in Auckland (down 5.4 percent)
- 4,511 in Waikato (down 14 percent)
- 3,607 in Wellington (down 6.0 percent)
- 6,275 in rest of North Island (down 17 percent)
- 8,171 in Canterbury (down 4.5 percent)
- 4,047 in rest of South Island (down 5.3 percent).
New dwellings consented per 1,000 residents
The number of new dwellings consented per 1,000 residents across New Zealand was 9.2 for the year ended March 2023, compared with 10 in the year ended March 2022. The record number of new dwellings consented per 1,000 residents was 13.4 in the year ended December 1973.
National population estimates are updated quarterly, and subnational population estimates are updated annually in October, and are provisional. For more information about estimated resident population see Population.
Non-residential building consents
In the year ended March 2023, non-residential building consents totalled $9.6 billion, up 11 percent from the year ended March 2022. This series can be influenced by price changes – non-residential construction prices (as measured by the capital goods price index) were up 10 percent in the year ended December 2022.
In the year ended March 2023, the non-residential building types with the highest values were:
- offices, administration, and public transport buildings at $1.7 billion (up 53 percent)
- storage buildings at $1.5 billion (up 20 percent)
- education buildings at $1.5 billion (down 3.8 percent).
More data
Use Infoshare for time-series data about building consents:
Subject category: Industry sectors
Group: Building consents – BLD
Definitions and metadata
Current methodology – Buildings consents issued from March 2015 – DataInfo+ provides the general methodology used to produce building consent statistics from March 2015 onward.
Building consents issued concepts from March 2015 onwards – DataInfo+ provides definitions of terms used in the release.
Building consents issued – DataInfo+ explains limitations of the data and changes over time.
Building consents issued frequently asked questions – DataInfo+ answers some common queries.
Media enquiries
Media team
media@stats.govt.nz
021 285 9191
Technical enquiries
Valentine Modera
04 931 4600
info@stats.govt.nz
ISSN 1178-0231
Next release
Building consents issued: April 2023 will be released on 30 May 2023.