Stats NZ said Otago was alone in New Zealand with an increase of new homes consented in 2024 compared to 2023.
Otago consents were up 19%, compared to a drop of 6% in Canterbury and 10% in Auckland.
In Wellington, consents plunged 24% and in Waikato they dropped by 22%.
There were 33,600 new homes consented nationwide in the year ended December 2024, down 9.8% compared with the year ended December 2023, Stats NZ economic indicators spokesperson Michael Heslop said.
"The increase in the Otago region was largely driven by the Queenstown-Lakes district," Heslop said.
“Over 1,500 new homes were consented in the Queenstown-Lakes district last year. Only Auckland and Christchurch city consented more homes in 2024.”
Of the homes consented nationally in the year ended December 2024, there were:
- 15,780 stand-alone houses consented (up 0.7 percent compared with the year ended December 2023)
- 17,820 multi-unit homes consented (down 17 percent).
The top three regions with the highest number of homes consented per 1,000 residents were:
Canterbury with 9.4 homes (down from 10.2 in year ended December 2023)
Otago with 9.1 homes (up from 7.7)
Auckland with 7.8 homes (down from 8.8).
“Otago was the only region to see an increase in the number of new homes consented per 1,000 residents in 2024," Heslop said.
