The amount of consents issued for residential housing in Wellington city has doubled in the past financial year, as the city council finally meets targets set up in 2014.

Between July 2016 and June 2017 there were 1702 consents issued for new dwellings and new residential sections.

That compared to 788 the year before, and 833 in 2014/15.

The number issued means, for the first time, Wellington City Council has met targets set under a housing accord with the Government in 2014.

The majority of the new consents are for subdivisions in Crofton Downs, Woodridge and Churton Park, and there was also a big jump in new apartments being planned.

The 2014 accord pledged to build 7000 new homes in the capital over five years. That included a goal of building 1000 new homes in its first year, which it did not meet, and 1500 each following year.

This year the council not only met its target, but beat it by 202 new consents.

Through the accord special housing areas were set up, within which resource consents can be fast-tracked, with little public consultation.

Mayor Justin Lester said the figure was good, and the city needed to sustain a level of 1000 new homes per year to keep up with demand. The accord had always been a "stretch target", he said.

New special housing areas were to thank for the increase in consents, but they'd taken a couple of years to bed in, he said.

The council wanted to see more people living in the CBD, Lester said.

"That's where we can accommodate growth most easily ... it doesn't add to the traffic burden, there are existing services, and it means a more vibrant CBD."

Lester said once the five years was up the council could potentially renegotiate a new accord with the Government, and he wanted to make it mandatory that new housing was affordable.

Tommy's sales consultant Nicki Cruickshank said the jump in consents was a positive thing, but it would take about 18 months for the new homes to be ready.

The new houses would make a difference, but would not relieve the problem as the city had some "catching up to do".

"We'd need to similar numbers next year for it to make a difference," Cruickshank said.

She expected 50 per cent of the consents to turn into apartments, with the other half split into town houses, and empty sections.

Top areas for new residential resource consents in Wellington:

Churton Park: 336 new sections, 38 new dwellings

Te Aro: 3 new sections, 137 new dwellings

Woodridge: 153 new sections, 34 new dwellings

Crofton Downs: 133 new sections, 4 new dwellings

Mount Cook: 0 new sections, but 123 new dwellings