WELLINGTON1234slottime, July 2 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's annual number of homes consented continued to see a downward trend from a peak in the year ended May 2022.

There were 34,851 new homes consented in the year ended May 2024, down 23 percent compared with the year ended May 2023, according to the statistics department Stats NZ on Tuesday.

The number of homes consented has fallen 32 percent from a peak of 51,015 in the year ended May 2022, which was the latest record for the number of homes consented in New Zealand, said Stats NZ construction and property statistics manager Michael Heslop.

In the year ended May 2024, there were 15,309 stand-alone houses consented, down 18 percent compared with the year ended May 2023, Heslop said, adding that there were 19,542 multi-unit homes consented, down 26 percent over the same period, including townhouses, flats, units, apartments and retirement village units.

"The annual number of homes consented has returned to a level last seen five years ago, but multi-unit homes now make up a much greater share of the total," he said.

The number of multi-unit homes consented in the year ended May 2024 has increased by 48 percent from the year ended May 2019. In contrast, the number of stand-alone houses consented decreased by 29 percent over the five-year period, he added.

The four regions with the highest number of new homes consented in the year ended May 2024 were Auckland, Waikato and Wellington in the North Island, and Canterbury in the South Island, according to Stats NZ.■