Consents issued by local authorities for houses and apartments recovered in February after two months of falls.
Statistics New Zealand says consents rose 5.9% compared with the previous month.
A seasonally-adjusted 1,422 housing consents were issued in February, up 10% from January.
This is well above the 905 consents issued a year ago, but below the same month two years ago.
However, continuing decline in apartment consents offset the increase in housing consents.
Only 13 consents for apartments were issued during February, the lowest number since June 1995. That compares with 193 in the same month last year, and 173 in 2008.
Real estate company Colliers says demand has dried up, and there is no incentive for developers to start projects.
But another company, Harcourts, says there is interest in family-sized apartments, although a lack of credit is hindering development.
An economist at Goldman Sachs JB Were, Philip Borkin, says still-low consents reflect high uncertainty in the residential market.
Mr Borkin expects consents to pick up as uncertainty about tax changes is removed following the Budget in May.
