Housing affordability in New Zealand
Content
Funded by THE Parliamentary service
Simon O’Connor
facebook.com/SimonOConnorMP www.simon.org.nz
MP F O R TA MA KI
16 Goldie Street, St Heliers. PO Box 125 193, St Heliers, Auckland 1740 P: 09 575 9842 | E: [email protected] @SimonOConnorMP
Housing affordability in New Zealand has been a problem for many years and across successive governments. Recently, the National government announced a plan to tackle the issue. Of course, there is no simple solution. In March 2011, the government commissioned an in-depth inquiry into housing affordability by the Productivity Commission. It reported that housing costs were a reflection of five significant factors; land supply, infrastructure, building materials costs, building sector productivity, and compliance costs. The government is addressing all of these with a number of important actions by: • Negotiating an Auckland Housing Accord that will see 39,000 new homes consented over the following three years, far more than the current average of 3,600 each year. • Streamlining the Resource Management Act to reduce red tape around building new houses. • Introducing six-month consenting limits for medium-sized projects. • Holding an inquiry into the cost of building materials. • Reining in development contributions and compliance costs. • Investing in skills to boost the productivity of the construction sector. • Saving an average family with a $300,000 mortgage $230 a week by keeping interest rates low. All of these changes will manifest themselves in the coming months and years and will hopefully have a measurable impact in the near future. I am pleased to be supporting the government’s work in this area. Over recent months, I have been contacted by a number of people hoping to buy a home in Tamaki. They know that the communities in this electorate are great places to live, work, and raise a family, but they have expressed frustration over the cost of housing here. I understand their disappointment, but also feel that a degree of realism is required when looking to enter the housing market. No government could ever make every house affordable to every home-buyer. Anyone promising simple solutions and fantastical results should be viewed with a degree of suspicion. Tamaki is rarely the first rung on the property ladder. It is a location in high demand and consequently a place of higher prices. Our beautiful communities are vibrant, with a strong sense of belonging. It is no wonder that many people seek to live here.
Funded by the Parliamentary Service and authorised by Simon O’Connor MP, 16 Goldie Street, St Heliers, Auckland
www.national.org.nz
Simon O’Connor
facebook.com/SimonOConnorMP www.simon.org.nz
MP F O R TA MA KI
16 Goldie Street, St Heliers. PO Box 125 193, St Heliers, Auckland 1740 P: 09 575 9842 | E: [email protected] @SimonOConnorMP
Housing affordability in New Zealand has been a problem for many years and across successive governments. Recently, the National government announced a plan to tackle the issue. Of course, there is no simple solution. In March 2011, the government commissioned an in-depth inquiry into housing affordability by the Productivity Commission. It reported that housing costs were a reflection of five significant factors; land supply, infrastructure, building materials costs, building sector productivity, and compliance costs. The government is addressing all of these with a number of important actions by: • Negotiating an Auckland Housing Accord that will see 39,000 new homes consented over the following three years, far more than the current average of 3,600 each year. • Streamlining the Resource Management Act to reduce red tape around building new houses. • Introducing six-month consenting limits for medium-sized projects. • Holding an inquiry into the cost of building materials. • Reining in development contributions and compliance costs. • Investing in skills to boost the productivity of the construction sector. • Saving an average family with a $300,000 mortgage $230 a week by keeping interest rates low. All of these changes will manifest themselves in the coming months and years and will hopefully have a measurable impact in the near future. I am pleased to be supporting the government’s work in this area. Over recent months, I have been contacted by a number of people hoping to buy a home in Tamaki. They know that the communities in this electorate are great places to live, work, and raise a family, but they have expressed frustration over the cost of housing here. I understand their disappointment, but also feel that a degree of realism is required when looking to enter the housing market. No government could ever make every house affordable to every home-buyer. Anyone promising simple solutions and fantastical results should be viewed with a degree of suspicion. Tamaki is rarely the first rung on the property ladder. It is a location in high demand and consequently a place of higher prices. Our beautiful communities are vibrant, with a strong sense of belonging. It is no wonder that many people seek to live here.
Funded by the Parliamentary Service and authorised by Simon O’Connor MP, 16 Goldie Street, St Heliers, Auckland
www.national.org.nz
