New Zealand Building Permits MoM

The number of building consents issued for new dwellings in New Zealand rose by 10.4% month-on-month in May 2025, reaching a seasonally adjusted total of 3,151 units. This included 1,464 stand-alone houses, 1,320 townhouses, flats, and units, 211 retirement village units, and 156 apartments. For the year ended May 2025, a total of 33,530 new dwellings were consented, marking a 3.8% decline compared to the previous year. The annual value of non-residential building work consented also dropped by 2.3% to $9.0 billion. The number of new dwellings consented per 1,000 residents was 6.3, down from 6.6 a year earlier and well below the record high of 13.4 recorded in December 1973. These figures highlight a continued slowdown in New Zealand’s residential construction activity.