More apartments are under construction in Te Aro than at any point since the global financial crisis, with developers betting on a structural shift in how the capital lives.

Wellington City Council figures show 1,420 new apartments are scheduled for completion across Te Aro and the southern CBD by the end of 2027 — roughly double the pace of the previous five years.

Demand is being driven in part by the council's medium-density rules, which made it materially easier to build six-storey buildings on much of the CBD's residential fringe.

Critics warn that the pipeline is still concentrated at the higher end of the market, with only a small fraction of the new builds aimed at first-home buyers or social housing.