The Government has released the first draft of the Natural and Built Environments Act (NBA), one of the proposed laws meant to replace the cumbersome Resource Management Act (RMA) which has stunted New Zealand’s ability to build more houses Reforming the Resource Management Act has been seen as a once in a generation opportunity to improve New Zealand’s ability to deliver more housing. Continue →

A United Nations report suggests New Zealand follow in Canada’s footsteps by adopting a human rights approach to housing policy and makes 27 recommendations for Government to address the crisis The housing crisis is a human rights crisis in New Zealand according to the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on adequate housing in a new report officially tabled over night at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Continue →

When Chief Medical Officers dictated that people must quarantine under lockdown restrictions, homeless people were given government-sponsored accommodation, but are our housing policies on track to eliminate homelessness for good? Continue →

More houses, warmer homes and higher Māori home ownership were clear objectives in the Government’s latest budget, but they face criticism for lacking any real solutions to New Zealand’s housing crisis Finance Minister Grant Robertson announced his fourth budget, which will invest $3.8b in a Housing Acceleration Fund, insulate 47,700 homes and put $380m towards raising Māori homeownership, which currently sits at just 30%.  Continue →

The cost to build a house surged 1.3% over Q1 2021 and we can expect this growth to continue, CoreLogic Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson explains The March quarterly growth is the highest rate of construction cost inflation since Q1 2019, and far above the 0.6% and 0.4% increases throughout Q3 and Q4 2020 respectively, according to CoreLogic’s Cordell Housing Index Price. Continue →

$3.8 billion towards new houses, a crack down on investors and more assistance for first home buyers were big items in the Government’s latest housing announcement, but did they get it right? Continue →

The Government has suggested it will focus on retaining or even increasing house prices, something that was not signalled prior to the election, says Infrastructure New Zealand Policy Director Hamish Glenn Government prioritisation of house prices above the supply, quality and affordability of housing would be a serious concern and would lock in intergenerational inequality, poor productivity and low incomes. Continue →

With private sector development forecast to plummet during this period of economic uncertainty, the government has a clear opportunity to support the residential construction industry and address New Zealand’s shortage of social housing, says economics consultancy Infometrics State houses being constructed on Kaihuia Street, Northland, Wellington (1938) The waiting list for state houses has more than quadrupled over the last four years, but high levels of construction have limited the government’s ability to respond to this burgeoning need. Continue →

The average floor area of new homes has dropped by 21% over a decade, Statistics NZ revealed Bob Dey Construction statistics manager Melissa McKenzie said the average floor area peaked at 200m² in the December 2010 year, and shrank by 42m² in 2019. Continue →

News that New Zealand is the second least affordable place to buy a house, after only Hong Kong, is sadly unsurprising, and signals that a new approach is needed to get more homes built and make housing affordable, says Infrastructure New Zealand CEO Paul Blair Today, Demographia released its most recent annual report into housing affordability in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK, and the US. Continue →

Award-winning architect, Ken Crosson, is transforming Manukau housing with the new residential development Kōtuitui featuring homes under $600,000 The project will comprise 61 two- and three-bedroom terraced homes priced from $575,000 to $775,000. Continue →

New research on the link between damp housing and children’s respiratory health supports Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ’s assertion that there is a strong need for proper housing for all New Zealanders, says Chief Executive Letitia O’Dwyer This research, led by, Dr Tristram Ingham, a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Otago, Wellington, shows that reducing exposure to poor quality housing could cut the number of hospital admissions for under-twos by 1,700 (19 percent) a year, and lead to healthcare savings of almost $8 million. Continue →

With a record low Official Cash Rate delivering both low mortgage rates and low bank deposits rates, it’s the perfect time for young renters to talk to their parents about buying a property together, says Century 21 New Zealand owner Derryn Mayne More and more New Zealand families are collaborating to secure a property. Continue →

Amending the existing schemes already available for Kiwi first-home buyers will undoubtedly deliver some quick and easy wins, Century 21 New Zealand owner Derryn Mayne comments after the Government announced its KiwiBuild reset It’s great to see that the KiwiSaver HomeStart and Welcome Home Loan schemes are getting a shot in the arm. Continue →

The Shift Aotearoa is a major three-day conference that will bring together a diverse group across the housing sector to fix Aoteroa New Zealand’s housing delivery system The conference will take place from 5-7 June 2019 at Te Papa in Wellington. Continue →

Housing New Zealand has won the inaugural CoreNet Global Proactive Property award run by the New Zealand chapter of CoreNet, the non-profit corporate real estate association Housing New Zealand’s Asset Development General Manager Patrick Dougherty says he was pleased the organisation was receiving national recognition for the design and delivery of state housing. Continue →

If the government wants to get anywhere close to delivering 100,000 homes in a decade, its primary focus should be encouraging the private sector to get the job done, rather than building significant numbers of houses itself, reckons James Kellow New Zealand Mortgages & Securities has more than $100m to invest and it is eager to support the government’s highly anticipated KiwiBuild programme. Continue →

Thirty top architecture, engineering and construction management students, one brief and just three days to design a Wellington-centric housing complex for all generations These were the ingredients for this week’s ArchEngBuild 2018 Challenge held at Victoria University of Wellington and the result was some truly future-thinking medium-density housing designs for the capital city. Continue →

An Australian developer has come up with an innovative idea that could help ease New Zealand’s chronic housing shortage Impeded by an uninviting property tax landscape, the build-to-rent sector has been stagnant in Australia despite the increasing viability of the model as home ownership rates continue to plunge. Continue →