The number of housing consents have climbed for the second month in a row, driven by a sharp rise in apartments.
Statistics New Zealand says permits issued for new homes, an indicator of economic activity, increased a seasonally adjusted 2% in July compared with the previous month.
Excluding volatile apartment numbers, consents fell 2.5%.
ANZ economist Mark Smith says increases in building activity seem to be easing off. "So while we will expect residential activity to pick up through the remainder of this year, the outlook for early next year is a little bit more subdued."
In July, 1,478 new dwellings were consented, a seasonally adjusted 26% more than the same month last year.
