The Hibiscus Coast has seen a decline in new home consents, mirroring a national trend reported by Stats NZ.

In the year ended June 2024, there were 33,627 new homes consented in New Zealand, marking a 24 percent decrease compared to the previous year.

“The number of homes consented in the year ended June 2024 has fallen to levels last seen five years ago,” said Michael Heslop, construction and property statistics manager at Stats NZ.

The decline was notable in both stand-alone houses and multi-unit homes.

There were 14,916 stand-alone houses consented, down 19 percent from the previous year, while multi-unit homes saw a 28 percent drop, with only 18,711 consents.

Multi-unit homes include townhouses, apartments, retirement village units, and flats.

In detail, consents for townhouses, flats, and units fell by 19 percent to 15,170.

Apartments and retirement village units saw sharper declines, down 52 percent and 51 percent respectively.

“The number of both apartments and retirement village units consented in the year ended June 2024 is the lowest in the last nine years,” Heslop noted.

The trend continued in June 2024, with a 36 percent drop in monthly consents compared to June 2023.

A total of 2,178 new homes were consented, including 1,122 stand-alone houses and 1,056 multi-unit homes.

Heslop attributed this partly to the fewer working days in June 2024, due to the Matariki holiday.

Regionally, all areas experienced declines.

Auckland led with 13,855 new homes consented, down 27 percent, followed by Canterbury, Waikato, and Wellington, which saw drops of 16 percent, 29 percent, and 36 percent, respectively.

The decline in consents signals a significant slowdown in the residential construction sector, impacting the availability of new housing across New Zealand.