The CabinMatch Housing Backlog Index

Where is New Zealand's housing shortage most acute?

CabinMatch has compiled a composite index of housing demand across all 67 New Zealand territorial authorities, combining social housing waitlist data, population growth, rental pressure, and dwelling density into a single 0–10 opportunity score.

Data: September 2025Updated quarterly

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Critical demand (8.5–10)
High demand (7.0–8.4)
Moderate demand (5.5–6.9)
Lower demand (0–5.4)

All territorial authorities ranked

Sorted by CabinMatch Opportunity Score. Click a column header to change the sort.

Rank			Tier
1	Hamilton City	9.9	Critical	981	1.58%	+10.0%	38%
2	Auckland City	9.6	Critical	6,921	1.14%	+7.9%	42%
3	Palmerston North City	9.6	Critical	486	1.43%	+8.7%	38%
4	Tauranga District/Tauranga City	9.6	Critical	660	1.11%	+16.1%	31%
5	Rotorua District	9.5	Critical	642	2.34%	+8.3%	36%
6	Porirua City	9.4	Critical	231	1.15%	+8.2%	36%
7	Lower Hutt City	9.2	Critical	366	0.85%	+7.6%	34%
8	Waikato District	9.2	Critical	231	0.86%	+14.1%	25%
9	Western Bay Of Plenty District	9.2	Critical	183	0.93%	+16.3%	23%
10	Manawatū District	9.1	Critical	84	0.7%	+11.0%	22%
11	South Waikato District	8.9	Critical	81	0.84%	+6.9%	30%
12	Central Hawke's Bay District	8.6	Critical	45	0.75%	+6.3%	26%
13	Whangārei District	8.6	Critical	543	1.35%	+5.6%	30%
14	Waimakariri District	8.5	Critical	105	0.44%	+16.7%	18%
15	Carterton District	8.3	High	18	0.43%	+8.2%	22%
16	Matamata-Piako District	8.3	High	57	0.41%	+9.1%	21%
17	Horowhenua District	8.2	High	156	1.06%	+10.1%	29%
18	Dunedin City	7.9	High	381	0.69%	+6.6%	36%
19	Kāpiti Coast District	7.9	High	129	0.55%	+9.8%	22%
20	Waipā District	7.8	High	60	0.3%	+16.0%	20%
21	Christchurch City	7.7	High	1,494	0.92%	+6.0%	31%
22	Kaipara District	7.6	High	48	0.48%	+14.2%	22%
23	Kawerau District	7.5	High	54	1.86%	+2.8%	38%
24	Tasman District	7.5	High	144	0.57%	+10.2%	20%
25	Gisborne District	7.4	High	387	2.07%	+3.9%	33%
26	Hastings District	7.4	High	456	1.55%	+4.5%	30%
27	Upper Hutt City	7.4	High	120	0.7%	+4.8%	28%
28	Whakatāne District	7.4	High	234	1.61%	+4.4%	30%
29	Marlborough District	7.2	High	210	1.04%	+5.3%	24%
30	New Plymouth District	7.2	High	348	1.02%	+4.3%	27%
31	Napier City	7.1	High	426	1.69%	+2.3%	33%
32	Taupō District	7.1	High	171	0.96%	+9.1%	27%
33	Hauraki District	7.0	High	39	0.46%	+5.6%	24%
34	Nelson City	7.0	High	279	1.23%	+4.6%	29%
35	Selwyn District	7.0	High	54	0.19%	+36.4%	17%
36	Queenstown-Lakes District	6.9	Moderate	36	0.2%	+15.2%	38%
37	Far North District	6.8	Moderate	390	1.36%	+4.3%	30%
38	Ōpōtiki District	6.6	Moderate	87	2.17%	+1.0%	35%
39	Wellington City	6.6	Moderate	621	0.68%	+1.3%	47%
40	Invercargill City	6.5	Moderate	177	0.75%	+2.7%	28%
41	Masterton District	6.5	Moderate	147	1.26%	+3.0%	28%
42	Rangitikei District	6.5	Moderate	60	0.82%	+6.5%	25%
43	Ashburton District	6.4	Moderate	54	0.38%	+5.0%	22%
44	Tararua District	6.2	Moderate	48	0.59%	+3.3%	26%
45	Timaru District	6.2	Moderate	102	0.51%	+2.4%	24%
46	Waitomo District	6.0	Moderate	51	1.21%	+2.1%	28%
47	Ōtorohanga District	5.8	Moderate	18	0.42%	+3.0%	24%
48	Stratford District	5.8	Moderate	30	0.71%	+2.1%	22%
49	Whanganui District	5.8	Moderate	198	0.96%	+0.6%	31%
50	South Taranaki District	5.6	Moderate	87	0.72%	+1.1%	24%
51	Westland District	5.5	Moderate	24	0.53%	+4.5%	26%
52	Grey District	5.4	Lower	72	1.14%	+1.5%	27%
53	Kaikōura District	5.3	Lower	9	0.43%	+7.5%	21%
54	Wairoa District	5.3	Lower	42	1.08%	+0.0%	32%
55	South Wairarapa District	5.1	Lower	12	0.24%	+8.6%	19%
56	Southland District	4.9	Lower	30	0.22%	+5.6%	19%
57	Central Otago District	4.8	Lower	21	0.17%	+21.4%	21%
58	Waitaki District	4.8	Lower	30	0.27%	+5.9%	22%
59	Buller District	4.6	Lower	57	1.16%	-2.9%	29%
60	Ruapehu District	4.5	Lower	45	0.7%	-1.6%	30%
61	Hurunui District	4.4	Lower	21	0.34%	+6.7%	17%
62	Thames-Coromandel District	4.2	Lower	54	0.31%	+7.0%	19%
63	Clutha District	3.9	Lower	21	0.25%	+3.4%	20%
64	Waimate District	3.0	Lower	9	0.24%	+0.0%	20%
65	Gore District	2.9	Lower	—	—	+1.6%	24%
66	Mackenzie District	2.9	Lower	—	—	+13.0%	18%

How the score is calculated

The CabinMatch Opportunity Score combines four measures of housing demand into a single 0–10 index for each territorial authority:

Waitlist intensity (0–3 points). The number of households on the MSD social housing waitlist expressed as a percentage of total dwellings. Areas where the waitlist represents 0.5% or more of all dwellings score the maximum 3 points.

Rental pressure (0–2 points). The percentage of households renting, from the 2023 Census. Areas where 40% or more of households rent score the maximum 2 points.

Population growth (0–2 points). Percentage population change between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. Areas growing at 10% or more score the maximum 2 points.

Dwelling density (0–2 points). Average number of people per dwelling. Areas significantly above the NZ average of 2.51 score higher. An additional 1-point bonus applies to fast-growing areas that also have above-average dwelling density.

Data sources

Housing waitlist: MSD Housing Register, September 2025.
Population and households: Stats NZ 2023 Census.
Territorial authority boundaries: Stats NZ, CC-BY 4.0.

Download the data

Download housing-index.json →
Please attribute CabinMatch and the original data sources if you use this data.

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