More new homes could be on the way, despite latest figures

Stats NZ data for the year to March, shows 35-thousand new homes were consented, down a quarter from the year before.

The Building Industry Federation's Julien Leys says it's returning to normal pre-Covid levels.

But he says there are early indicators numbers could go up again, to cater to 132-thousand new migrants.

Leys says concrete merchants sales rose in January and February, and building merchants sales are up this month.