Christchurch CBD blooming with newbuilds: 'The pace is picking up'

More apartments and townhouses are cropping up along the Christchurch skyline.

From the rubble of the Canterbury earthquakes came the rebuild, and Christchurch's central city is now in the midst of an apartment and townhouse boom, as new homes reshape the CBD skyline.

Central Ward Councillor Jake McLellan said the garden city was "booming at the moment" following the recent opening of the city's new Te Kaha stadium, and buzz around associated events.

He said the council was working toward a target of 20,000 new residents to be moved in to the complexes.

A surge in apartment and townhouse developments is transforming central Christchurch, with the council aiming to attract 20,000 new residents to the CBD.

"We're roughly halfway there but the pace is picking up," he said.

"It's just one thing after another, the economy is going well and consequently people are wanting to move here - it's affordable."

In 2025, building consents for apartments reached a five-year high, with townhouse supply ballooning over the same timeframe.

One of the country's residential property builders, Williams Corporation, said it was selling a house basically every working day.

"A house will always have more than one owner over the life of it, and we're still seeing a good spread between different people buying for different reasons," said managing director Blair Chappell.

He said later this year the company would begin working on the largest residential apartment block in the city — with homes in the 10-storey tower due to be on the market by the end of 2028.

"The project here which will be the last super lot to be developed in Christchurch central / the east frame.

"It will be 140 apartments overall and what the goal is here is to really have a mix of options, but also have a lot of amenities not offered before generally in in apartment buildings," he said.

Williams Corporation managing director Blair Chappell.

These amenities including a residents lounge, gym and sauna and plunge pool.

Asked whether the city had enough parking and infrastructure to cope with the surge, Chappell said there was plenty of car park buildings nearby.

"There's four within 200 metres away and if that is the difference between you buying a house or not, come chat to me and we'll make sure we solve that for you."