The number of new houses being consented is starting to come down, following a four-year-long period of growth.

In the last 12 months there have been 382 new houses consented in Dunedin.

That's an average of just under 32 a month.

Nationally the number of consents for new dwellings has more than doubled in the last four years.

And despite a slight drop in February, numbers are still high.

The number of consents for new Dunedin houses peaked in July, at 51 for the month.

Local activity tends to be slower around the start of the year.