Building consents · Stats NZ figures to September 2026
Building consents in Drift Bay
1,981 new homes were consented in the Queenstown-Lakes District council area in the year to September 2026, up 11% on the year before. They also consented $237m of non-residential building work, up 91% on the year before. In the statistical area around Drift Bay, 25 new homes were consented in the same year. Below: 86 consents we hold in Drift Bay, searchable and on the map.
Stats NZ publishes building consents down to the council, so the official figures on this page are for the Queenstown-Lakes District council area, and new homes down to statistical areas, which is how Drift Bay’s own count is made.
New homes consented each month
Dwellings in new building consents, Queenstown-Lakes 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 1,729 in 2025.
New homes in Drift Bay
Stats NZ’s new dwellings for the statistical area Drift Bay sits in (Outer Wakatipu) — the suburb is smaller than one. In the year to September 2026: 7 houses, 18 townhouses and units, 0 apartments.
Non-residential building work each month
The value of new and altered non-residential buildings consented — offices, shops, factories, warehouses, farm buildings, schools, hospitals — Queenstown-Lakes 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.
- Hotels and motels$82.4m
8 buildings · 13,675 m² new floor area · $5,115/m² new · +88% on the year before
- Shops, restaurants and bars$57.1m
15 buildings · 14,795 m² new floor area · $3,258/m² new · +61% on the year before
- Social, cultural and religious$25.9m
7 buildings · 3,497 m² new floor area · $6,822/m² new · +268% on the year before
- Hostels, boarding houses and prisons$25.8m
3 buildings · 6,050 m² new floor area · $4,264/m² new
- Offices$20.7m
6 buildings · 2,766 m² new floor area · $5,998/m² new · +33% on the year before
- Education$12m
5 buildings · 2,611 m² new floor area · $4,475/m² new · +391% on the year before
- Factories and industrial$7.2m
5 buildings · 1,617 m² new floor area · $3,348/m² new · +310% on the year before
- Warehouses and storage$4.3m
3 buildings · 1,774 m² new floor area · $2,430/m² new · +100% on the year before
- Farm buildings$892k
3 buildings · 591 m² new floor area · $1,509/m² new · −75% on the year before
- Hospitals and health$800k
−93% on the year before
Consents on record in Drift Bay
Individual building consents we hold, each on its property: 86 from 12 Apr 2016 to 4 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.
- Alterations and additions4
2 in the last 12 months · typically $33k
- Garages, sheds and carports2
1 in the last 12 months · typically $160k
- New homes2
typically $4.8m
- Minor dwellings and sleepouts1
typically $5.3m
Consents on record by month
The last three years. A recent dip is often records still to arrive.
Largest in the last 12 months
- $180kStage 1 of 4 gge being stage 1 ground floor of future first floor stage to be built overhead 2 Tasman Terrace
- $99kAlterations to an existing dwg - proposed 9.5 sqm add to the kitchen to create a pantry, changes to the existing external covered entry 5 Bayonet Peak Place
- $5,000Alt to 2-storey dwg: remove & replace with new in-built firenzo kompac deco, insert zero clearance standard flue 2 Bluff View Terrace
86 consents
- Alterations and additions$5,000
Alt to 2-storey dwg: remove & replace with new in-built firenzo kompac deco, insert zero clearance standard flue
- Garages, sheds and carports$180k
Stage 1 of 4 gge being stage 1 ground floor of future first floor stage to be built overhead
- Alterations and additions$99k
Alterations to an existing dwg - proposed 9.5 sqm add to the kitchen to create a pantry, changes to the existing external covered entry
- New homes$5m
Construction of a single storey dwg with attached gge & detached services building
- Alterations and additions$60k
Alterations to existing welling
- New homes$4.5m
Construction of a three storey dwg of structural steel & concrete - 970 Kingston Rd, drift bay, Queenstown
- Alterations and additions$1
Amendment - cladding to external walls changed to STO Armat render system, window & door joinery system revised, mechanical ventilation system changed to NewTech Ltd, structural steel design amended.
- Minor dwellings and sleepouts$5.3m
Construction of dwg with detached studio - 13 nathanael place, Queenstown
- Garages, sheds and carports$139k
Convert portion of existing barn to res flat - 5 lakeshore drive, drift bay, Queenstown
- Alterations and additions$300k
Construct detached home office - 12 carlin creek drive, drift bay, Queenstown
- Alterations and additions$150k
Alterations & add to dwg. Add new attic accommodation & attic access to the dwg. Works include: a new lift, new roof walls & floor connecting 2 existing gable roofs, new windows, new ramp access to the east garden. (6 scenic drive
- Alterations and additions$100k
Additions to existing dwg - add bdrm with en suite & walk-in wardrobe (968 Kingston Rd, Queenstown)
- Alterations and additions$2.5m
Alterations & add to existing dwg. The proposed 2 storey plus basement add will be connected to the existing house. The existing house will have the kitchen removed & replaced with a bdrm. The existing res house will bec
- Garages, sheds and carports$100k
Amendment: extension of gge area, approx. 6 x 12m of additional underground construction adjacent to proposed gge (7 Scenic drive, Queenstown)
- New homes$2m
Construction of single level detached dwg with attached gge & detached guest unit.
- Alterations and additions$350k
Alt to dwg - waterproofing membrane replacement to the roof including new glass balustrade. Window replacement, new cladding, glass balustrade to form roof deck handrail. New swimming pool with decking & glass pool fencing
- New homes$2.4m
Construction of two storey detached dwelling with attached double garage including AMENDMENT.01 Cladding to external walls changed to STO Armat Render System, window and door joinery system revised, mechanical ventilation system changed to NewTech Ltd, structural steel design amended. - 8 Bluff View Terrace, Queenstown
- New homes$3.4m
Construction of two storey (part in ground) detached dwelling with attached garage including AMENDMENT: Extension of garage area, approx. 6 x 12m of additional underground construction adjacent to proposed garage (7 Scenic Drive, Queenstown)
- Repairs, recladding and strengthening$150k
Alt & repair to existing 2 storey detached dwg.
- New homes$1.3m
Construction of single level detached dwg with attached gge
- Minor dwellings and sleepouts$150k
1 Bluff View Tce, Lakeside Estate, Qtn - addition of detached studio and shed. Including AM170783.01: new spa and glass handrail added, new pergola, revised gas fire, new whb added in studio joinery. existing shed and courtyard structure, now retained and not demolished. new roof and walls.
- New homes$1m
1 Tasman terrace, Queenstown - new two storey 5 bdrm res dwg with attached triple gge.
- Garages, sheds and carports$1.7m
Construct a one-storey residential building with a double garage and associated landscaping. - Including Amendment: alteration to pool- 7 Bayonet Peak Place, Lakeside Estates, Queenstown
- Garages, sheds and carports$1.4m
7 Bluff View Terrace, Lakeside Estates - New Dwelling, Garage and Associated Work. Including Amendment AM150819.01 - Various height and 1st floor alterations
- Alterations and additions$1.3m
1 Scenic Drive, Lakeside Estate. Queenstown. New Dwelling with attached garage.
ResidentialCommercial The dots are this page of the list.
Near Drift Bay
Questions
How many building consents were issued in Drift Bay?
In the year to September 2026, Stats NZ counted 1,981 new homes consented in the Queenstown-Lakes District council area, with $1.22b of residential and $237m 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.