Kāinga Ora could take control of the planning and development for several suburbs along the yet-to-be-built Auckland Light Rail corridor, undermining Auckland Council’s local authority Senior Labour ministers have directed Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities to assess the potential establishment of the Auckland Light Rail project as a Specified Development Project (SDP). Continue →

Further innovation is needed in the construction industry to meet both shorter and longer-term housing requirements, says Autodesk Construction Solutions Industry Strategist Sumit Oberoi The New Zealand Government’s Bill to increase housing supply, and the introduction of the National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD) in July 2020, are important measures to address the country’s housing shortage over the longer term. 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 →

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 →

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 →

New South Wales will start taxing increases in property values caused by state spending on infrastructure, and rezoning of land uses by councils, The Urban Developer’s Ted Tabet reports A new “infrastructure contributions system” will be rolled out as part of the annual NSW budget which will directly affect developers building transit or infrastructure-oriented projects in the most populated areas of the state. Continue →

The National Policy Statement on Urban Development 2020 (NPS-UD) came into effect in August 2020 and guides council decision-making on the growth and development of New Zealand’s urban environments, Bayleys reports The key objectives of the NPS-UD are to increase the development capacity for houses and business, address housing affordability and ensure New Zealand communities are “well-functioning urban environments that enable all people and communities to provide for their social, economic, and cultural wellbeing, and for their health and safety, now and into the future.” 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 →

$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 released its Public Housing Plan 2021-2024 which outlines the intention of where 8,000 additional public and transitional housing places announced in Budget 2020, will go The Public Housing Plan will focus on opportunities to build more homes in communities of severe housing deprivation. 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 →

Despite the sharpest economic downturn in 60 years, house prices in major markets remain relatively stable or on the way up Sydney properties are overpriced, ranking 16th in the UBS Global Real Estate Bubble report of 25 cities worldwide. 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 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 →

Last week’s announcement of a 10 percent year-on-year decline in Auckland’s April dwelling consents and fall in the total number of new homes completed in the last quarter reinforces the importance of urgently implementing the Government’s Urban Growth Agenda before it is too late, says Stephen Selwood CEO of Infrastructure New Zealand The 1043 homes consented in April 2019 was down from 1163 in April 2018, according to recent data released by the Auckland Council’s Research and Evaluation Unit. Continue →