Prime Minister’s Column-More houses being built under National
일요시사
0
563
2015.09.09 13:53
Helping more New Zealand families into their own home is a priority for the National-led Government.
The supply of new housing, particularly in Auckland, is one of the biggest and most longstanding issues facing the Government.Previous governments have put this in the too-hard basket but we’re actually doing something about it.
We’re taking steps that will result in more houses being built, and more affordable homes in the market.Recent reports show we are making inroads. Official figures just released show house construction in Auckland is growing and there is strong momentum in the region.
In July, more than 1100 homes were consented in Auckland – up 31 per cent on the same month last year and the first time in a decade the monthly total has been over 1000. More than 8500 consents have been issued over the past year, which is also the highest annual rate in a decade.
There’s also been a significant increase in the number of apartments consented in Auckland, which will help address Auckland’s housing issues.
Last week, we announced a further 11 new Special Housing Areas will be established across Auckland that will provide up to 1600 new homes.These new areas will bring the total number of Special Housing Areas in Auckland to 97, providing up to 47,000 new homes.
The latest Auckland Housing Accord Monitoring Report shows the number of houses being built in Auckland has grown at over 20 per cent a year since 2012 – the longest and strongest period of growth ever.
Another report released last month also projected the total value of building and construction activity in New Zealand will top $200 billion over the next six years – much of this driven by Auckland.
The report forecast 80,000 new homes will be built in Auckland by 2020.Our HomeStart programme is helping more young New Zealanders buy their first home – more than 6700 applications were made in the first three months of the scheme since it came into effect on 1 April this year.
Our next steps include the new tax measures coming into effect on 1 October, and the planned second phase of reforms to the Resource Management Act, which will help to address some of the long-term issues affecting housing supply and affordability.
There is still much more work to do and the National-led Government remains focused on supporting more New Zealanders into their own home.
