The Government is pumping $3.8 billion into housing supply, with Housing Minister Megan Woods saying it would speed up the pace and scale of house building in New Zealand.
The multi-billion dollar fund is set for a combination of private and Government development of housing, with additional money going to increasing the use of vacant or underutilised Crown-owned land for housing.
It will go into contestable funding for infrastructure projects across New Zealand, alongside speeding up the delivery of large scale projects of public, affordable and mixed housing.
The Government wants local councils to open up land and to enable housing intensification.
Megan Woods expected it to "help green light tens of thousands of house builds in the short to medium term".
Officials said today it should help green light tens of thousands of house builds in the short- to medium-term. (Source: Other)
"This fund will jump-start housing developments by funding the necessary services, like roads and pipes to homes, which are currently holding up development," Woods said.
Megan Woods described the system to get new, affordable housing as "broken".
"There is a clear market failure in getting new houses off the ground and a significant missing link is ready-to-build land with infrastructure in place," she said.
The biggest problem in the housing market is supply. (Source: Other)
"Before houses can be built, particularly at the scale that we need them, this groundwork must be built and paid for. It’s a stumbling block that stopped developers and councils in their tracks.
"It makes housing more expensive and puts councils with a collision course with rate payers. Nobody wants to pay for it at the pace that is required."
It’s the renters who will end up paying the price, some are warning. (Source: Other)
"The Government will also assist Kāinga Ora to borrow an additional $2 billion that will assist in bringing a range of development forward through strategic land purchases."
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