Number of households

IBISWorld forecasts the number of households to increase by 2.0% during 2025-26 to 2.07 million. This relatively large growth, compared with historical averages, is a result of New Zealand's expected surge in net migration. Reforms to the Accredited Employer Work Visa, like the removal of the wage threshold, will support net migration. This trend is set to contribute to hikes in the number of households in the country.

Statistics New Zealand defines three main categories of households: family, other multi-person and one-person. A family household contains two or more people usually living together. It includes at least one couple or parent/child relationship. Other multi-person households include groups of unrelated people usually living together. Finally, a one-person household includes one person who usually lives alone. The 2023 New Zealand census (latest available data) shows that family households remain the largest household type, by a significant margin, at 71.6% of all households. This is a slight rise from 69.3% in 2018. One-person households are the next most common, at 22.8%. This is a 0.9% hike from 2018.

Statistics New Zealand also breaks down households into owner-occupied, rented and provided free categories. Over the long term, the proportion of owner-occupied households are declining, while rentals are expanding. However, the percentage of households that are owner-occupied has remained relatively steady over the past five years, at 66.9% of households. Rented households account for 31.5%, and households provided for free make up the remaining 1.9%.

There has been a drop in the number of dwelling consents issued from peaks seen in 2020-21. Yet, the New Zealand Government is committed to easing the housing crisis and boosting affordable housing supply. This trend has supported growth in the number of households. Overall, IBISWorld forecasts the number of households to expand at a compound annual rate of 1.9% over the five years through 2025-26.