Medium density housing keeps rents lower

Auckland University associate professor of economics Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy, in a paper published last week, says if Auckland Council had not introduced zoning reforms through the Unitary Plan in 2016, rental costs for three-bedroom houses would be between 28-54% higher and for two-bedroom homes 16-28% more expensive.

The paper compared rents in Auckland to a weighted average of rents from other urban areas that were similar to the city prior to zoning reform.

The Unitary Plan precipitated a construction boom and gave Greenaway-McGrevy six years of data to examine the impact of the reforms on housing costs. The findings suggest large-scale zoning reforms in Auckland enhanced affordability of family-sized housing when evaluated by rents.

Rents over house prices