The district has passed 2,000 new homes a year for the first time, with another 2,800 approved at Homestead Bay

No district in New Zealand consents more new homes per head than Queenstown-Lakes. In the year to August 2026, it consented 2,080 new homes, up 32% on the year before and nearly double the 1,113 it consented in the year to August 2021.

That’s 38.7 homes for every 1,000 residents, against a national figure of 7.7 and well ahead of Selwyn, next highest at 27.6. The district’s annual total has risen three years running, from 1,165 in the year to August 2023.

It’s a record run. In its figures for the year to June, Stats NZ reported that Queenstown-Lakes had consented more than 2,000 new homes for the first time on record, accounting for more than two-thirds of new homes in the Otago region, economic indicators spokesperson Michelle Feyen said. The district’s population has more than tripled since 1996, mostly through people moving in.

Otago as a whole is at a high too. The region consented 2,987 new homes in the year to August, up 21% and the most in any year since at least 2016, when it consented 1,681. Queenstown-Lakes alone accounted for about seven in every 10 of those homes, leaving roughly 900 for the rest of the region.

More is on the way. In February 2026, an independent fast-track panel approved RCL Homestead Bay Limited’s development in Queenstown, lodged in June 2025, with 2,800 homes and a commercial retail precinct.

Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop said approval took around six months from the panel’s appointment, making it the 10th project approved through fast-track. The Government estimates it will add $720.3 million to GDP and support around 4,420 jobs during construction.

Bishop tied the approval to housing costs, saying Queenstown-Lakes had the highest median sale price in the country in January 2026, around $1 million above the rest of New Zealand. The panel found the development’s independent wastewater approach adequate, with the option to connect to the council network later.

Southland is moving too

Further south, the numbers are smaller but the growth is just as sharp. Southland consented 459 new homes in the year to August, up 31% and more than double the 220 it consented in the year to August 2016. The region’s total had barely moved in the two years before, at 337 and then 351.

Invercargill accounted for 237 of them, up 34% and well up on the 151 it consented two years earlier. Southland District consented 180, up 35%, and Gore held steady at 42, up from 41.

Elsewhere in Otago the picture is mixed. Central Otago edged up to 312 and has stayed between 271 and 312 a year since 2021. Dunedin was the exception, at 472 new homes, about 5% fewer than the 495 of the year before and well below the 621 it consented in the year to August 2022.

All of that work draws on the same pool of people. When consent numbers climb this quickly, builders and the trades behind them can get booked well ahead, while the region’s existing homes still need maintaining and renovating.

Building for the southern landscape

People move south for the lakes, mountains and high country. New homes need to respond to those surroundings, as well as the practical demands of the site and climate.

Siting and earthworks need to respect the landform. Cladding, joinery and seals have to cope with local weather conditions, including hard frosts and large temperature swings in many areas. Services also need careful planning on sites that can be steep, rocky or remote.

A few habits help a project through a market this busy.

· Line up your key people early. In a region building this fast, good diaries fill first.

· Ask about local experience. Someone who has worked through southern winters knows which details need particular attention.

· Get the consent application complete first time. A council request for more information can pause processing until the missing details are supplied.

· Don’t let pace override detail. A rushed junction can cost far more to fix once the linings are on.

The homes going up now will stand in the southern landscape for generations. Choosing people who know the ground, the climate and the local requirements helps projects get built well and stand the test of time.