Prime Minister’s Weekly Column
Housing affordability is an important issue for New Zealanders. National values home ownership, and we want to help more Kiwis into their own home. We know that at the moment, our housing market is not working as well as it could be. There are too few houses being built, there’s not enough land being set aside, consenting processes are too cumbersome, and the cost of construction is too high. So we’re taking action to fix this. We’ve embarked on a comprehensive package of reforms to improve housing affordability.
I’ve previously talked about how the Government is working with local councils…… around New Zealand to increase the land supply for residential purposes. We recently passed the Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Act, which will allow for Special Housing Areas to be created by local councils that enter into Housing Accords with the Government.
Auckland Council is the first council to agree on a Housing Accord with the Government under this new law. The Auckland Accord aims to have 39,000 new homes consented over the next three years – a huge increase on the current average of 3,600 homes consented a year. In addition to this, we’ve made changes to Kiwi Saver and the Welcome Home Loans scheme, which will help thousands of families get into their first home.
Our changes to Kiwi Saver will double the number of members that can access the extra deposit assistance of up to $5000, and we’re expanding the Welcome Home Loans Scheme, where the Government guarantees loans for people who have an insufficient deposit but have the ability to meet mortgage repayments, so that more people can access it. The number of loans will be trebled from about 850 a year to 2,500 a year. We’re also taking action in other areas, including reforming the Resource Management Act, reining in council development charges, and considering ways we can increase productivity in the building and construction sector.
Thanks to these measures, we’re seeing the start of some real momentum. National is working hard to help more people to achieve the Kiwi dream of owning their own home, and it’s a part of the brighter future we’re building for all New Zealanders.
