Auckland apartment pipeline falls to lowest level since 2014
Thursday, 4 June 2026
The number of apartment projects now under way in Auckland has fallen to the lowest level in more than 10 years, a market expert says.
Commercial real estate services firm, CBRE, has released its latest report into the apartment sector, and it revealed there were just 44 projects in the pipeline in the first quarter of this year.
That was down from 50 projects at the time of the last report, and from 180 projects at the peak of the market five years ago.
The data differs from yesterday’s surge in residential building permits in April, which was partially fuelled by Auckland apartment consents. CBRE data paints a contrasting picture because it tracks actual market transactions and project feasibility, whereas Stats NZ only tracks intent through paper permissions.
CBRE Asia Pacific director Tamba Carleton said the decline in the pipeline from the market peak was striking and left the pipeline at the lowest level since their records began in 2014.
Read more:
Housing growth fund leaves councils with ‘no excuses’ for inaction
Going, going, gone: Kiwi auctioneer becomes first female Australasian
Seven new projects were launched over the quarter, but that did not offset the six projects that were completed and an increase in the number of projects that were abandoned, she said.
Eight projects were abandoned, up from seven over the same period last year.
“Most of those projects were launched optimistically a year or two ago, and have been marketed for at least a year in a difficult market,” she said.
“With no meaningful pre-sale traction, the developers eventually decided it was time to call it quits. However, my feeling is that the increase is likely to be a seasonal, one-off bump.”
In another sign of the quiet market, there were only 17 apartment pre-sales over the quarter.
But Carleton said the apartment market was very cyclical, and would “come back” - it was just that “no-one knows the timing of when that will happen”.
Likewise, the soft development pipeline was a temporary situation because the underlying demand was still there, she said.
“Apartments suit small households, and that is a growing demographic, especially for older households who may be downsizing, and who don’t want to go down the retirement village route.”
It was worth looking at the segments of the pipeline that had declined, she said. There were fewer build-to-rent projects, fewer social housing (Kāinga Ora) projects, and fewer investor-led projects.
“Instead there has been a focus on luxury projects for downsizers. Those don’t tend to be big developments and many people can’t afford to buy them. So they are more for those who have money.”
In her view, that situation would not remain the case going forward. Changing demographics and views on housing meant that people would look at apartments more in future, she said.
One driver would be that, over the long-term, housing was not going to have the level of capital gains seen in the past.
There would no longer be the sort of capital gain differential between houses and apartments that used to exist and that meant there was less reason for buyers to opt for a house over an apartment, she said.
“Also, we are getting smarter with construction, intensification is now allowed in areas that people want to live in and apartments tend to be more cost-effective than standalone houses.
“Higher costs for things such as rates and insurance are not going to reverse, so people will increasingly look to reduce their outgoings, so they have more for lifestyle options, and apartments can help there.”
That left Carleton optimistic about the future of the Auckland apartment market over the long term.
“In Auckland, apartments have not really been around for long, so it’s a relatively young market, and as it matures we will see more and more people choosing to live in apartments.
“As people become more informed about apartment living, and more aware of it as an option, demand will increase and developers will respond because they build what people want to live in.”
Some of the apartment projects under construction include Simplicity Living’s big build-to-rent developments at Remuera and Morningside, and Ockham Residential’s Station M development at Meadowbank.
Recently launched projects include Precinct Properties’ Pillars, a boutique development in St Mary’s Bay, and Dova, a development in Mt Eden, and Ockham’s The Kubrick in Freemans Bay.