Fewer dwelling consents were issued in June than most economists expected but Auckland and Christchurch remain the drivers of future growth.
Statistics New Zealand figures showed residential building consents fell 4% in seasonally adjusted terms last month.
Westpac economist Michael Gordon said the ex-apartment total was less than he expected but it probably reflected normal monthly volatility, especially after a surprising 13.5% rise in April that continued in May.
Consents for apartments, including retirement units, fell from 219 in May to 160 in June. However, in seasonally adjusted terms, they were unchanged and remained at a four-year high.
''Typically, we strip out apartments from our analysis, due to their extreme volatility from month to month. But the recent run of strong results suggests it's worth taking a closer look as to whether a stronger trend is developing in this segment of the market,'' he said.
By region, ex-apartment consents were weaker in Auckland and Waikato, partly offset by a rise in Canterbury. Consents for new homes in Christchurch jumped to about 200, the biggest month since 2007.
Mr Gordon said June was the month in which the Christchurch City Council was threatened with losing its accreditation to grant consents, in part due to slow progress. That threat was carried out in early July and it was unclear what impact that would have on the July figures.
ASB economist Christina Leung said the underlying trend remained one of a recovery in house-building demand, albeit at a slightly more modest pace than expected.
Because of the problems in Christchurch's consenting process, house-building demand there was likely to be stronger than the number of consents issued suggested.
''These developments will need to be closely watched. A more sustained easing in consent issuance over the coming months would suggest a slowing in construction activity.
''For now, we continue to expect the earthquake rebuild in Canterbury and stronger house-building demand in Auckland to be key drivers of increased construction activity over the coming years,'' she said.
In the June quarter, 5213 new dwellings were consented, including apartments, the highest since the second quarter of 2008. Excluding apartments, 4620 new dwellings were consented, the highest since March 2008.
The government statistician's trend series for new homes, including apartments, has increased for 27 straight months.
In Australia, approvals for the construction of new homes fell 6.9% in June, official figures show.
Local councils approved the construction of 12,778 new homes, including houses, townhouses and apartments. That compares with 13,727 approvals in May, seasonally adjusted.
Over the year to June, building approvals were down 13%, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
Economists had forecast a rise of 2% in approvals for June.
