Porirua City had the highest proportion of townhouses being consented in the year from March 2025 – February 2026. That’s according to Stats NZ. 

Compare that to Kawerau, the small district in the Bay of Plenty. They have no townhouse consents at all over the same period. 

The top 5 places where townhouses made up the highest proportion of new consents were:

1. Porirua City – 69%
2. Lower Hutt City – 63%
3. Upper Hutt City – 61%
4. Christchurch City – 56%
5. Auckland – 56%

Compare that to the places where none (or not many) townhouses were consented at all:

1. Waimate District – 0%
2. Kawerau District – 0%
3. Buller District – 2%
4. Hauraki District – 2%
5. Kaipara District – 2%

How much do townhouses cost?

Townhouses range in price, depending on a whole bunch of things.

For example, how nice the property is (the spec), the location, and the size.

But here are a few examples to give you a rough idea of what real investors are currently paying in today’s market.

Have townhouse prices dropped?

Yes, townhouse prices have dropped, but not dramatically more than houses.

In Auckland, townhouse prices are down 14% from the 2021 peak, compared to 21% for houses. In Christchurch, townhouses are down 1.2% versus 0.6% for houses.

So the answer is yes, prices have fallen. But the drop is broadly in line with the wider market, rather than showing a severe townhouse-specific slump.

That’s based on REINZ median house price data (February, 2026).

Are there too many townhouses being built? 

It's true that more townhouses are being built than ever before. 

In the year ended January 2026, townhouses, flats, and units made up 43.8% of all new homes consented in New Zealand. 

This can make some investors nervous that there are too many townhouses being built. Because when there’s too much supply of any property type (compared with demand):

1. Property prices don’t rise as fast
2. It’s harder to find a tenant (they have so many rental options)

But is there an oversupply of townhouses?

While townhouses are being built at three times the rate they were a decade ago, the usual signs of oversupply aren’t showing up clearly in the data:

#1 – Prices haven’t fallen much faster than houses.

In Auckland, townhouse prices are down 14% from the 2021 peak, compared to 21% for houses. In Christchurch, townhouses are down 1.2% versus 0.6% for houses.

#2 – They’re not taking dramatically longer to sell

In Christchurch, townhouses currently take 7.5 days longer to sell than houses. That's slightly above the long-term average gap of 3.9 days.

#3 – Demand for smaller homes is still strong

Trade Me’s data shows that 2-bedroom properties were most popular among tenants (February 2026). Tenants are still searching for 3-bedroom properties. But not many search for 4-bedroom properties.

That’s important as many townhouses purchased by investors often have either 2 or 3 bedrooms.

So while supply has clearly increased, the data suggests demand is still keeping pace.

Standalone properties vs townhouses: What grows in value faster?

Since standalone properties have more land, many investors assume they’ll grow in value faster than a townhouse.

In other words, more land = more capital growth.

But historically, townhouses and standalone houses in New Zealand have increased in value at a very similar rate.

When you look at the graph, the first thing you notice is how similar the two lines are. 

Yes, there is a slight difference in favour of existing properties, but there’s very little in it. 

On average, Auckland houses beat townhouses by about 0.7% per year in this example. That’s based on REINZ data from January 1992 – February 2026.

What rental yields do townhouses get?

That said, townhouses often make up for that with stronger rental yields. 

That's for two reasons:
1. They are usually cheaper to buy than standalone houses. 
2. They can still earn solid rents, the yield is often a bit higher.

That combination is part of what makes townhouses appealing to buy-and-hold investors. 

Townhouses offer a reasonable mix of growth and income ... without the higher purchase price of a standalone home.

Who are townhouses the right (and wrong) fit for?

A townhouse can be a good investment, but it won’t suit every investor. 

The key point is that a townhouse is not automatically a good or bad investment. It depends on what you want the property to do. 

Should I invest in a townhouse?

A lot of investors ask me whether townhouses are genuinely good investments ... or whether they’re just everywhere because that’s what’s getting built. 

My honest answer is that some townhouses can be good investments and some aren’t. 

The fact that it’s a townhouse doesn’t tell you enough on its own. What matters more is whether the property works as an investment: 

Is it in a location where tenants want to live?

Does the rent stack up relative to the purchase price? 

Is it likely to deliver solid long-term growth without stretching your cash flow too far? 

When I look at townhouses today ... these are the questions I focus on.