Building consents · Stats NZ figures to September 2026
Building consents in Whanganui
190 new homes were consented in the Whanganui District council area in the year to September 2026, up 40% on the year before. They also consented $72.5m of non-residential building work, down 27% on the year before. In Whanganui itself, 20 new homes were consented in the same year. Below: 174 consents we hold in Whanganui, searchable and on the map.
Stats NZ publishes building consents down to the council, so the official figures on this page are for the Whanganui District council area, and new homes down to statistical areas, which is how Whanganui’s own count is made.
New homes consented each month
Dwellings in new building consents, Whanganui 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 199 in 2021.
New homes in Whanganui
Stats NZ’s new dwellings for the 3 statistical areas that make up most of it: Cornmarket, Laird Park, Whanganui Central. In the year to September 2026: 6 houses, 2 townhouses and units, 12 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 — Whanganui 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.
- Offices$29.5m
5 buildings · 2,618 m² new floor area · $10,680/m² new · −56% on the year before
- Factories and industrial$14.2m
5 buildings · 1,509 m² new floor area · $4,109/m² new · +385% on the year before
- Hostels, boarding houses and prisons$6m
+761% on the year before
- Social, cultural and religious$4m
2 buildings · 699 m² new floor area · $5,182/m² new · +44% on the year before
- Hospitals and health$3.9m
1 building · 540 m² new floor area · $7,070/m² new · +805% on the year before
- Shops, restaurants and bars$3.9m
1 building · 262 m² new floor area · $3,817/m² new · −62% on the year before
- Education$3.8m
2 buildings · 296 m² new floor area · $4,459/m² new · +215% on the year before
- Farm buildings$3.2m
20 buildings · 5,128 m² new floor area · $324/m² new · −11% on the year before
- Warehouses and storage$2.1m
2 buildings · 1,164 m² new floor area · $1,503/m² new · −78% on the year before
- Hotels and motels$2m
1 building · 422 m² new floor area · $4,739/m² new · +4344% on the year before
Consents on record in Whanganui
Individual building consents we hold, each on its property: 174 from 1 Aug 2019 to 1 Aug 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 heating38
3 in the last 12 months · typically $5,000
- Alterations and additions26
2 in the last 12 months · typically $40k
- Garages, sheds and carports12
1 in the last 12 months · typically $43k
- New homes10
4 in the last 12 months · typically $377k
- Plumbing, drainage and wastewater4
1 in the last 12 months · typically $35k
- Multiple homes3
1 in the last 12 months · typically $550k
- Minor dwellings and sleepouts3
typically $40k
- Repairs, recladding and strengthening3
typically $46k
- Relocated buildings2
2 in the last 12 months · typically $40k
- Insulation2
1 in the last 12 months · typically $21k
Consents on record by month
The last three years. A recent dip is often records still to arrive.
Largest in the last 12 months
- $1.8mRbw- 4 x two-storey standalone 4-bdrm dwg/ gge, under slab detention tank, retaining wall & associated drainage 2 Halswell Street
- $1.8mConstruction of 6 attached dwgs split in 3 buildings 17-19 Glasgow Street
- $750kTwo storey 3 bdrm detached dwg 51 Alexander Street
- $539kNew dwg 6 Tay Street
- $314k2 bdrm domestic dwg 9 Harrison Street
174 consents
- New homes$539k
New dwg
- Insulation$35k
Replace beam. Add external wall insulation & upgrade bracing. Minor internal alterations. Add ensuite. Alt enclosed front porch. + alt.1 relocating rear wall onto existing piles
- Fires and heating$6,000
Installation of maxen kinmont 350 wood fire in the lounge
- Alterations and additions$18k
New walls & roof to building link
- Fires and heating$8,000
Free standing solid fuel heater
- Plumbing, drainage and wastewater$1,000
Alt.1 revised stormwater drainage (multiproof - new 60sqm 2 bed eco home)
- Fires and heating$7,000
Free standing solid fuel heater. Install of a metro wee rad base log fire including foley 15042fkfmb ss flue kit. The property is fitted with interconnected smoke alarms
- Relocated buildings$30k
Site works for relocatable house, including foundations, new deck & drainage.
- New homes$750k
Two storey 3 bdrm detached dwg
- New homes$1.8m
Rbw- 4 x two-storey standalone 4-bdrm dwg/ gge, under slab detention tank, retaining wall & associated drainage
- Relocated buildings$50k
Relocating shower/wc & laundry to another room. Removing 2nd bathrm. Removing two walls to create open space off kitchen. Adding fireplace
- Garages, sheds and carports$65k
Construct a 11.1m x 7m x 2.7m gge
- Alterations and additions$25k
Bathrm renovation & new level entry shower
- Multiple homes$1.8m
Construction of 6 attached dwgs split in 3 buildings
- New homes$314k
2 bdrm domestic dwg
- Minor dwellings and sleepouts$40k
Convert a near new gge into a granny flat
- Garages, sheds and carports$105k
Construct a 20m x 10m x 3m totalspan gge
- Minor dwellings and sleepouts$30k
New gge-sleepout
- New homes$173k
Multiproof - new 60sqm 2 bed eco home
- Multiple homes$550k
Construct two res dwgs
- New homes$400k
New res dwg project description: construct a three bdrm dwg linea cladding metal tile roof
- Fires and heating$7,000
To supply & install a new metro smart insert wood burner
- Repairs, recladding and strengthening$46k
Repile existing dwg
- Multiple homes$550k
Construct two res dwgs
- Repairs, recladding and strengthening$10k
Repair a water-damaged firewall
ResidentialCommercial The dots are this page of the list.
Near Whanganui
Questions
How many building consents were issued in Whanganui?
In the year to September 2026, Stats NZ counted 190 new homes consented in the Whanganui District council area, with $113m of residential and $72.5m 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.