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Building activity is showing signs of recovery across parts of the Hibiscus Coast and Rodney, although the latest consent figures suggest the rebound remains uneven across the two wards.
Stats NZ figures show 996 new dwellings were consented in the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board area in the year ended January 2026, up from 796 a year earlier – an increase of around 25 per cent.
However, the picture is different immediately to the north. In the Rodney Local Board area, 844 new dwellings were consented over the same period, down from 981 the previous year.
However, both areas are well below the exceptional building activity of the early 2020s, when Hibiscus and Bays reached a peak of 1639 new dwelling consents in the year ended January 2022. Rodney followed a similar broad pattern, peaking at1382 in 2023.
The Hibiscus and Bays Local Board stretches south through the East Coast Bays, while Rodney covers a large area north and west of the Coast. However, the overall figures provide a broader picture of the northern Auckland development corridor, which includes major growth around Millwater, Milldale and Silverdale, as well as continued residential development around Ōrewa and the wider Coast.
The latest figures suggest the market has moved well beyond the lows experienced immediately after the building boom, but have yet to sustain a consistent recovery.
That cautious picture is also reflected in Registered Master Builders’ State of the Sector survey, released last month.
It found 68 per cent of builders nationally described their forward pipeline as strong or steady, up from 64 per cent last year, while the proportion reporting critically diminished pipelines fell from 11 per cent to six per cent.
Master Builders chief executive Ankit Sharma said the results showed a sector that had adapted to tougher conditions rather than one waiting for the market to rescue it.
However, significant pressures remain. Rising construction costs were identified by 93 per cent of builders, weak consumer demand by 87 per cent and access to capital by 78 per cent. Master Builders has also identified Auckland as one of the softer markets.
A survey of 600 people who had recently build a new home found 91 per cent of homeowners would recommend building to others while 75 per cent experienced no significant delays.
The Masters Builders survey found 57 per cent of homeowners reported completing their project within or under budget.
In its September Monetary Policy update, the Reserve Bank noted that residential investment is likely to recover more slowly as a result of the Middle East conflict, as higher input costs for diesel and other materials, lower house prices, and increased uncertainty reduce the incentive to build.
However, for the Hibiscus Coast and surrounding growth areas, the consent figures point to a construction sector that remains active, but one operating in a very different environment from the boom conditions of several years ago.
