Housing crisis: Data shows record number of consents for new houses 5 May, 2021 11:01 PM 4 minutes to read New houses galore! Photo / George Novak New Zealand has never had so many houses approved in any one period of time. The magic 40,000 a year house barrier has been broken for the first time in nearly half a century. Stats NZ said today 41,028 new homes were consented in the year to March 2021, eclipsing the February 1974 year's previous record of 40,225. We're now in a golden period for housing construction, akin only to the era when big new suburbs like Auckland's Glenfield were built. Advertisement All the Government moves to increase supply and relieve stress on the pressure-cooker housing sector have begun to pay off.