First year Auckland Housing Accord target exceeded

Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith and Auckland Mayor Len Brown have today welcomed the release of the first year report of the Auckland Housing Accord.

“It is good progress that 11,060 new sections and dwellings have been achieved in the first year – more than 20 per cent above the target of 9000. We will need to maintain this momentum and growth to meet the targets of 13,000 in year two and 17,000 in year three,” Dr Smith says.

The Auckland Housing Accord was agreed by the Government and Auckland Council in October 2013 in response to concerns over limited sections being available for new housing and the time taken to approve new housing developments. It resulted in the creation of the Auckland Council Housing Project Office (HPO) and the passage of the Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Act 2013.

“The Accord has facilitated an unprecedented level of engagement and collaboration between not just Auckland Council and the Government, but also the development sector to boost the delivery of housing across the city at a rapid pace,” Mr Brown says.

“We have moved quickly to establish the Special Housing Areas, where construction is now underway at full steam. We have got diggers on the ground at sites across Auckland and there is huge potential in the pipeline,” Mr Brown says.

“Total new dwelling numbers for the first year of the Accord was 7366, up 30 per cent on the 5647 in the previous year. The number of new apartments for the year was 1974, up 150 per cent on the 780 in the previous year. Building activity is at the highest level since 2006 and $20 billion of residential building work is projected over the next three years,” Dr Smith says.

“It is also encouraging that house price inflation in Auckland has slowed from 14.8 per cent to 7.9 per cent over the past year. Our goal is to rapidly increase supply and to contain ongoing house price increases across the city,” Dr Smith says.

“As well as making the most of the fast-tracked consenting processes available in the Special Housing Areas under the Accord, we are also seeing developers applying to have swathes of urban land rezoned for residential development,” Mr Brown says.

“The consenting and master-planning activity now taking place within Special Housing Areas sets up a solid platform to meet the Accord targets for the next two years. Developments have already been approved for 477 sections or dwellings, and master-planning and consenting on track for over 19,500 sections and dwellings,” Mr Brown says.

“The second and third year targets remain ambitious, but they were designed to stretch us. They reinforce the need for the Government and Auckland Council to keep our foot on the accelerator,” Dr Smith says.

“The Government will be adding momentum to the work of the Auckland Housing Accord in 2015 with the HomeStart scheme coming into effect on 1 April, and with an important second phase of Resource Management Act reforms,” Dr Smith concluded.

More information on the Auckland Housing Accord is available at: http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/ratesbuildingproperty/housingsupply/Pages/aucklandhousingaccord.aspx