Comment: Govt plans to pump up housing market

Housing minister Maryan Street says the government plans to develop large-scale housing developments involving partnerships between government and the private sector to increase the amount of affordable housing being built.

“A review of public land holdings will be undertaken to see what new land might be made available for significant housing developments involving a mix of public and private provision.

“We will support the development of the not-for-profit sector to provide more affordable rental and owner-occupied houses for lower-middle income families or individuals in high cost areas.”

Chin says the moves will be positive for the property market. “There will be some private sector landlords who might be able to participate in all of this social housing, particularly with leasing arrangements to Housing New Zealand.”

In the meantime the government is launching a shared equity scheme in July for people in high cost areas, Street says, targeted at the purchase of newly built homes.

While Chin thinks assisting people into the market place is ‘great’, he cautions that some people aren’t in the market because “the banks don’t want to touch them”.

“Suddenly the taxpayer carries the risk if there are problems further down the track. Everyone has to live in a house, but not everyone has to own one,” he says.

Street says the government is also going to re-evaluate some of the regulatory costs that have contributed to house price rises.

National’s housing spokesperson Phil Heatley says regulatory costs and delays are the main cause of unaffordable houses, and the government’s new initiatives ignore this.

“They refuse to make it easier for private landowners to subdivide their land, and they won’t reform the Resource Management Act or significantly streamline the Building Act to reduce compliance costs.”

COMMENT: Govt's plans to pump up housing market