National residential construction cost pressures have continued to escalate, with both quarterly and annual rates of indexed growth reaching new record highs, CoreLogic finds CoreLogic NZ’s Cordell Construction Cost Index (CCCI) for Q2 2022 indicates the cost to build a ‘standard’ 200 sqm three-bedroom, two-bathroom single storey brick and tile house in Aotearoa rose 2.6% over the quarter, lifting annual growth to 7.7%, the largest increase since the CCCI commenced in late 2012. Continue →

The Government’s latest changes to its Kiwibuild scheme will make a real difference for developers and those looking for an affordable home, New Zealand Mortgages & Securities Director James Kellow says Changes include an increase to the price caps for one-to-three bedroom Kiwibuild homes, with the price cap for a three-bedroom Kiwibuild property in Auckland increasing from $650,000 to $860,000. Continue →

A $391-million masterplan aimed at transforming one of the key towns in the Snowy Mountains has been finalised The NSW Department of Regional Planning today released the 40-year masterplan for the Snowy Mountains’ Special Activation Precinct (SAP), aimed at transforming Jindabyne, best known as the gateway to the NSW ski fields, into a year-round economy. Continue →

Like New Zealand, Australia is facing issues with housing affordability, but industry groups are confident the new government’s housing policies could help turn things around, the Urban Developer reports Industry groups have given the new federal Labor government’s housing policies a tick, saying they are confident that it will help tackle housing affordability. Continue →

The Government has announced its plan to get New Zealand to zero carbon emissions by 2050, but more can be done with housing and buildings One of the biggest ways to reduce our emissions is to encourage high quality intensification of our housing supply across our metropolitan centres and along transit routes, says Property Council New Zealand Chief Executive Leonie Freeman. Continue →

The National Policy Statement on Urban Design (NPS-UD) and the introduction of Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) are the latest steps being taken by the government to compel city councils to accelerate intensification of development, Colliers says The legislation has significant implications for city planners, developers and property owners. Continue →

After committing over a third of its housing acceleration fund to five Auckland suburbs, the Government could only promise up to $55.1m for a Maori housing project in New Plymouth Around 400 urban renewal projects in Mt Roskill, Mangere, Tāmaki, Oranga and Northcote will receive funding from the Government’s $3.8 billion Housing Acceleration Fund (HAF) to unlock more housing, Housing Minister Megan Woods says. Continue →

Building consent numbers will likely peak in the first half of 2022 – if left unchecked, the issues of housing supply and housing unaffordability could worsen significantly this year, Brad Olsen from Infometrics warns Annual inflation in the year to the December 2021 quarter was 5.9%, well outside the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s target of keeping inflation between 1 and 3% on average over the medium term. Continue →

A new bill has passed which is expected to deliver as many as 105,500 new houses in the next five to eight years by overruling district council plans New building intensification rules will mean up to three homes of up to three storeys can be built on most sites without the need for a resource consent.  Continue →

Many of the cases this week have been in large households, and people in emergency or transitional housing, health officials report A gradual declining trend in community Covid case numbers has been interrupted, with 45 new infections reported today. Continue →

Countries overseas have already adopted build-to-rent as a way to tackle housing issues – New Zealand may finally be catching up as Kiwi Property plans to construct the country’s first large-scale build-to-rent development Located at Sylvia Park, Auckland, the 295-unit apartment complex is set to change what it means to rent in New Zealand. Continue →

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 →