Good progress in two years of Housing Accord

The Auckland Housing Accord is freeing up land faster for housing and helping drive increasing momentum in residential construction, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith and Mayor Len Brown said today in releasing the second year monitoring report.

“We are on target at the two-year mark of the Housing Accord, having achieved 23,806 dwellings consented and new sections created, as compared to the target of 22,000 – that is, we are 1806 ahead of where we aimed to be. It is a good result, although it is the Year Three target that will stretch us,” Dr Smith says. 

“Today’s report provides further evidence that the joint effort by the Government and Auckland Council is delivering results and making a real difference in boosting our city’s housing supply,” Mr Brown says.

The Auckland Housing Accord, agreed on 1 October 2013, set a target of 39,000 new sections and dwelling consented over three years – with 9000 in Year One 13,000 in Year Two and 17,000 in Year Three. The Government and council achieved 123 per cent of the target in Year One and 98 per cent of the target in Year Two.

The Auckland Housing Accord monitoring report, produced jointly by Auckland Council and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), covers the 12 months from October 2014 to September 2015. The Accord, agreed between the Government and Auckland Council, provides for a speeding up of resource and building consenting, and for the creation of Special Housing Areas (SHAs) by the council with the approval of Government.

“We have established 97 Special Housing Areas under the Accord so far, and another nine announced this week, with a combined potential yield of more than 48,000 new homes across Auckland. Twenty per cent are in design phase, 29 per cent have resource consent applications underway, 14 per cent have resource consents lodged or approved, 15 per cent have earthworks underway and the remaining 22 per cent have houses under construction. Resource consents are in the process for 29,284 sections and dwellings and 1226 building consents had been issued at 30 September,” Mr Brown says.

“These Accord figures on the strong growth in Auckland’s house build rate are reinforced by other independent data. The National Construction Pipeline Report projects an extra 80,000 new homes will be built in the six years to 2020, as compared to the 30,000 in the preceding six years. The Household Labour Force Survey shows the number of people employed in Auckland’s construction industry has increased from 45,000 to 75,000 over the past three years. Statistics New Zealand’s latest annual building consent data for Auckland is also at a 10-year high,” Dr Smith says.

“The Government and the council will need to keep the foot on the accelerator, particularly given the ongoing high net migration figures. The next steps in the Government’s programme include advancing new housing on Crown-owned land in Auckland, supporting the council in the completion of the new Auckland Unitary Plan, consulting on a new Urban Development National Policy Statement, and reform of the Resource Management Act,” Dr Smith says.

“The Housing Accord and Special Housing Areas were always an interim measure to support housing growth until October 2016, when the Auckland Unitary Plan needs to be completed. The legislation passed by the Government last week enabling additional commissioners and multiple hearings panels will help facilitate the Panel reporting the plan back to council on time. We want a smooth transition that does not interrupt the growth in Auckland’s housing construction and this will require the council to be very focused on completing Auckland’s Unitary Plan prior to the local body elections,” Mr Brown says.

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