Building consents · Stats NZ figures to September 2026
Building consents in Marlborough Sounds
203 new homes were consented in the Marlborough District council area in the year to September 2026, up 16% on the year before. They also consented $127m of non-residential building work, up 122% on the year before. Below: 2,883 consents we hold in Marlborough Sounds, searchable and on the map.
Stats NZ publishes building consents down to the council, so the official figures on this page are for the Marlborough District council area.
New homes consented each month
Dwellings in new building consents, Marlborough District, the last five years.
Since 1991: houses and everything else
New homes consented each year, houses against townhouses, flats, units, apartments and retirement village units. The most in one year was 487 in 2007.
Non-residential building work each month
The value of new and altered non-residential buildings consented — offices, shops, factories, warehouses, farm buildings, schools, hospitals — Marlborough District, the last five years.
What is being built
Non-residential building work consented in the year to September 2026, by type: the value of new and altered work, new floor area, and what new floor area cost to build per square metre.
- Education$46m
2 buildings · 4,872 m² new floor area · $2,165/m² new · +471% on the year before
- Hotels and motels$45.8m
4 buildings · 8,086 m² new floor area · $5,349/m² new · +7915% on the year before
- Warehouses and storage$9.8m
3 buildings · 5,588 m² new floor area · $1,339/m² new · +12% on the year before
- Factories and industrial$6.6m
7 buildings · 1,131 m² new floor area · $1,387/m² new · +14% on the year before
- Hospitals and health$5.9m
2 buildings · 772 m² new floor area · $2,497/m² new · −70% on the year before
- Social, cultural and religious$4.9m
3 buildings · 759 m² new floor area · $6,251/m² new · +118% on the year before
- Farm buildings$3.1m
40 buildings · 5,993 m² new floor area · $507/m² new · +54% on the year before
- Shops, restaurants and bars$2.4m
−54% on the year before
- Offices$1.9m
2 buildings · 237 m² new floor area · $4,979/m² new · −50% on the year before
- Hostels, boarding houses and prisons$700k
−46% on the year before
Consents on record in Marlborough Sounds
Individual building consents we hold, each on its property: 2,883 from 1 Jul 2021 to 1 Jun 2026. Councils publish their records unevenly, so these are what we have, not every consent issued — for the full count, see the official figures above.
What the work is
Consents in the last five years by the kind of work their description names.
- Fires and heating20
3 in the last 12 months · typically $7,500
- Alterations and additions18
5 in the last 12 months · typically $44k
- Retaining walls13
typically $50k
- New homes11
4 in the last 12 months · typically $720k
- Plumbing, drainage and wastewater8
1 in the last 12 months · typically $16k
- Garages, sheds and carports3
2 in the last 12 months · typically $50k
- Decks, pergolas and verandahs3
2 in the last 12 months · typically $40k
- Multiple homes1
1 in the last 12 months · typically $1.2m
- Demolition1
typically $30k
- Pools and spas1
typically $4,354
Consents on record by month
The last three years. A recent dip is often records still to arrive.
Largest in the last 12 months
- $1.2mRbw - proposed x4 2-storey dwgs with single gge, 3 bedrooms, 1 study, 2.5 bathrooms, timber & keystone retaining walls, storm water tanks. Drain bridging. 144 Te Mahia Road, Te Māhia
- $950kDwg & solid fuel heater 4406 Croisilles-French Pass Road, Canoe Bay
- $850kDwg with log fire & shed 3219 Archers Road, Tennyson Inlet
- $450kDwg & solid fuel heater 120 Clova Bay Road, Tōtaranui
- $445kDwg & solid fuel heater 1933 Te Towaka-Port Ligar Road, Port Ligar
2,883 consents
- Fires and heating$80k
Dwg alterations with free-standing solid fuel heater
- Fires and heating$6,500
Free standing woodsman ecr novo solid fuel heater
- Alterations and additions$70k
Amendment to bc211039 - res alterations & additions
- Fires and heating$8,000
Inbuilt yunca xander solid fuel heater
- Garages, sheds and carports$200k
Proposed shed, storage & craft rooom
- Plumbing, drainage and wastewater$16k
Replacement septic tank
- Decks, pergolas and verandahs$77k
Deck & ramp extension
- Decks, pergolas and verandahs$40k
Replacement deck & subfloor structure
- Garages, sheds and carports$45k
Gge
- Alterations and additions$55k
Jetty alterations
- New homes$950k
Dwg & solid fuel heater
- New homes$850k
Dwg with log fire & shed
- Alterations and additions$50k
Res alterations & additions
- Multiple homes$1.2m
Rbw - proposed x4 2-storey dwgs with single gge, 3 bedrooms, 1 study, 2.5 bathrooms, timber & keystone retaining walls, storm water tanks. Drain bridging.
- New homes$450k
Dwg & solid fuel heater
- Alterations and additions$1
Amendment to bc231038 - res alterations & additions & relocate solid fuel heater
- New homes$445k
Dwg & solid fuel heater
- Alterations and additions$8,000
Free standing nectre big bakers oven
- Fires and heating$5,000
Inbuilt masport le4000 solid fuel heater
- Decks, pergolas and verandahs$40k
Deck replacement
- Fires and heating$5,500
Free-standing woodsman kanaku uleb solid fuel heater
- New homes$182k
Dwg with free-standing pyro solid fuel heater & wastewater system
- Fires and heating$50k
Dwg alterations with free-standing metro tiny rad woody solid fuel heater
- Fires and heating$7,000
Free-standing metro tiny rad solid fuel heater
- Fires and heating$7,000
Free-standing woodsman coleridge solid fuel heater
ResidentialCommercial The dots are this page of the list.
Suburbs in Marlborough Sounds
Where the consents we hold are, most in the last 12 months first.
- Tennyson Inlet4 / 120
- Mahau Sound3 / 226
- Te Māhia3 / 168
- Duncan Bay2 / 80
- Portage1 / 180
- Saint Omer1 / 57
- Tōtaranui1 / 28
- Port Ligar1 / 11
- Canoe Bay1 / 7
- Mills Bay1 / 3
- Ōnahau Bay0 / 171
- Arapaoa Island0 / 168
- Lochmara Bay0 / 138
- Bay Of Many Coves0 / 117
- Double Cove0 / 94
- North West Bay0 / 88
- Ruakākā Bay0 / 81
- Blackwood Bay0 / 77
- Rangitoto ki te Tonga / D'Urville Island0 / 71
- French Pass / Anaru0 / 65
- Waitaria Bay0 / 60
- Cissy Bay0 / 52
- Squally Cove0 / 52
- Punga Cove0 / 51
- Elaine Bay0 / 51
- Raetihi0 / 50
- Crail Bay0 / 50
- Admiralty Bay0 / 49
- The Pines0 / 46
- Tamuri0 / 42
- Nydia Bay0 / 40
- South East Bay0 / 38
- Black Rock0 / 37
- Nōpera0 / 35
- Furneaux0 / 29
- Broughton Bay0 / 23
- Bulwer0 / 20
- Kenepuru Head0 / 18
- Waitātā0 / 18
- Endeavour Inlet0 / 17
- Manaroa0 / 17
- Snake Point0 / 16
- Resolution Bay0 / 14
- Pukekoikoi0 / 14
- Te Tōwaka0 / 13
- Ōhauparuparu Bay0 / 13
- Nikau Bay0 / 12
- Kaiaho Point0 / 11
- Titirangi0 / 11
- Anakoha0 / 10
- Beatrix Bay0 / 9
- Fairy Bay0 / 7
- Taipare Bay0 / 4
- Goulter Bay0 / 3
- Cape Jackson0 / 1
Questions
How many building consents were issued in Marlborough Sounds?
In the year to September 2026, Stats NZ counted 203 new homes consented in the Marlborough District council area, with $116m of residential and $127m of non-residential building work.
What is a building consent?
Written approval from a council (a building consent authority) that planned building work complies with the Building Code. Most new buildings, additions, structural alterations, fires and plumbing and drainage work need one; some minor work is exempt under Schedule 1 of the Building Act 2004.
Where do these figures come from?
The official counts are Stats NZ’s monthly Building consents issued release (CC BY 4.0), covering every consent every council issues. The individual consents listed are ones we hold from councils’ records and other public sources; they are not a complete list for every council.