New housing barely dents shortage

Auckland housing announcements keep coming but it is unlikely they will rectify the shortage.

Wednesday, November 25th 2015, 12:00AM

by Miriam Bell

Cranes and construction sites currently form a hefty presence around Auckland’s cityscape.

At the same time, the latest Statistics New Zealand data shows the issuing of consents in Auckland continues on an upward trend and construction is a driving force in the region’s economy.

This week alone, Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith announced nine more Special Housing Areas (SHAs) for the city and launched a new precinct at the Hobsonville Point housing development.

The new SHAs, which are a mix of brownfield and greenfield sites, spread around the Auckland region, will, potentially, yield 1100 new houses for the city.

They bring the total number of SHAs in Auckland to 106 and have a long-term capacity for over 48,000 new houses.

The Hobsonville Point precinct will accommodate 540 new houses – on top of the 524 houses now completed, and the 389 currently under construction, in the development.

Smith said the Government and Auckland Council were working together to improve the supply and affordability of Auckland’s housing.

Both the SHAs and the Hobsonville development illustrate the scale and momentum needed, he said.

“There is still a power of work involved in converting SHAs into completed houses, but Aucklanders should be encouraged by the fact residential construction in the city is booming.

“We are experiencing the longest and strongest sustained period of growth in Auckland’s history, with the rate of new house build at a 10-year high.”

Work on the Government’s programme to facilitate privately developed housing on Crown-owned land continues, Smith said.

“The next major step will be the planned second phase of reforms to the Resource Management Act, which will address the long-term issues affecting housing supply and affordability.”

However, commentators from across the spectrum have said that, although the level of construction activity is high, it is simply not enough to match the SuperCity’s supply shortage.

Labour’s housing spokesperson Phil Twyford said there might now be 106 SHAs, but the Council can only account for 102 houses built in those SHAs over the past two years.

“Further, the consenting still rate languishes at 4300 below the 13,000 new homes Auckland needs every year just to keep up with the population.”

Back in August, the Council’s own Housing Project Office suggested that the city’s housing shortage will get worse before it gets better, with the shortfall rising from 15,000 to over 24,000 by 2018.

It said the shortfall would drop in subsequent years but that, by 2028, there would still be a shortfall of more than 11,000.

While Auckland’s record population growth is a significant contributor to the shortage, there are other factors at play too.

These include much-debated regulatory issues and capacity constraints in the construction industry.

Howick councillor Dick Quax, who has long been a critic of Auckland's housing rollout, has also questioned the Council’s capacity estimates - in terms of land for future housing.

In his view, the Council needs to be realistic about Auckland’s growth and zone more land for development.

However, the Council’s GM for Auckland Plan, Strategy & Research, Jacques Victor, rebutted this.

He said the latest capacity modelling showed around 108,000 to 144,000 new dwellings would be feasible under the Council’s suggested changes to the Unitary Plan’s residential provisions and in today’s market conditions.

“This modelling does not include all land within the Metropolitan Urban Limit, nor does it include Housing New Zealand properties, which could accommodate around 19,000 additional dwellings.”

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