Coromandel housing: 'Covid we can cope with, but housing is absolutely desperate'

Whiritoa recorded the highest quarterly rise in house prices nationally up 23.8 per cent to $1.088m. Photo at daybreak New Zealand Herald Alex Robertson.

Motels are helping the homeless, that's a reality on the Coromandel, opening their doors for locals needing a place to live and boosting their business through tough times for tourism.

"Forget Covid - the biggest problem we have in this country is housing," said Billie Williams at Shortland Court in Thames.

"Covid we can cope with, but housing is absolutely desperate."

Billie and Bob Williams are among those taking in needy people with nowhere else to live.

"We've taken in some of our WINZ people because they're homeless," said Billie. "We've had no problems and we've developed relationships with these young girls. I think people have got a very wrong impression, probably from places like Rotorua where they are allowed gangs."

Billie, an ex-school teacher, and husband Bob, an ex-police officer, say "a lot depends on the relationships you develop with people".

"Everybody's story is quite different, it depends what you are prepared to do to keep your turnover going. You have to be prepared to work with people, some have very sad stories - it's not as straight out as people think."

"Even if they get a house, the concept of paying $500 a week is completely beyond them. That's if they can get a house for $500."

Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods has weighed in on the debate after Coromandel MP Scott Simpson criticised Labour for Coromandel's rising rents and housing shortage.

Simpson says many Kiwis are already struggling to keep up with increasing costs at the supermarket and the petrol station, "let alone the skyrocketing rents".

"The Coromandel is the best place to live but more needs to be done to address the housing issues in our region."

Woods said the MP and National were suffering "collective amnesia".

"We absolutely acknowledge the pressure that renters are under," said Woods, "and as with first homeownership, we know the answer lies in building more new housing."

She said in Thames-Coromandel District last year, new dwelling consents were at their second-highest figure since 2008, with 11.1 dwellings consented per 1000 residents. In Hauraki, consents were at their highest since 2008, with nine dwellings consented per 1000 residents.

"This is above the average for New Zealand at 9.6 dwellings per 1000 residents."

"The housing crisis we inherited, grew under National.

"In its nine years of government National did nothing for affordable housing and sold off public housing, including 24 homes in the Hauraki and Thames/Coromandel area.

"We are turning that around and rebuilding the state's role in providing public housing, having delivered nearly 9000 homes across the country for public housing – with over 7000 of them being brand new builds.

"We are unashamedly encouraging investment in new builds through changes to tax rules around interest deductibility and the bright-line test caveat for new builds, as we tilt the playing field away from housing speculators.

"In addition, we are investing in infrastructure like pipes and roads to enable new housing with the $3.8 billion Housing Acceleration Fund (HAF), which aims to speed up the pace and scale of housing building and the $2 billion Kāinga Ora Land Programme.

"We are facing a housing crisis in New Zealand that is decades in the making. We are under no illusions - simply there is no single, quick fix. Instead, it requires a government committed to finding solutions and an active work programme to turn around that crisis. That's what we are doing."

Emergency housing is a welcome regular income to help the Williams' pay the bills.

But she says it's inevitable this option won't be around for long, with booking enquiries already coming in advance from overseas.

Regulations facing landlords were a hindrance to the supply of housing, she believed.

"I've heard of three houses in Thames ready for occupancy but they won't rent them because they don't have heat pumps yet. Excuse me, it's the middle of summer. Sometimes good intentions can cause major problems."

Latest data shows that the median rent for houses in the Thames-Coromandel District was $350 in October 2017 when Labour came to office and by December 2021 the median rent was $450.

Simpson said: "This is a staggering increase of $100 per week under Labour, which means people are paying $5200 extra per year just for housing.

"We have a shortage of houses to rent or purchase on the Coromandel and Labour's failure to fix the housing crisis is making the situation worse.

"Whether it was increasing the bright-line test or removing interest deductibility, Labour have stumbled from one knee-jerk policy to another.

"At each step, they were warned that landlords would have no option but to pass on the costs to their tenants. Labour arrogantly went ahead anyway and now New Zealand renters are paying the price."

Thames motelier and Coromandel region representative for Hospitality NZ Carol Murphy is the sole operator of Tuscany on Thames Motel.

She says she's fortunate to keep her doors open to the dwindling numbers of corporate clients visiting the Coromandel as her motel is not set up for emergency housing as an option.

"A lot of people are doing well, but not hospitality, and that's what the Coromandel is," said Murphy.

She believes whilst Infometrics figures appear to show the Coromandel has fared well compared to other regions, the impact of Government decisions is immediate here.

"The minute Auckland went into lockdown, my business died. It was up when Auckland was out of lockdown and everyone was travelling, but now I'm just doing what I need to do to look after my mental health.

"I'm afraid of Omicron, not because of getting sick but I'm afraid I would have to close my business down and my business is already at a loss."

A survey by Hospitality NZ - with Thames among areas surveyed - found since the change to traffic light red, half of all hospitality businesses have had a reduction in revenue of 40 per cent or more.

Ninety per cent of respondents were small business operators, and 14 per cent have had more than 60 per cent reduction.

Some 43 per cent of respondents will need to access additional private funding to get through the current Omicron/red light setting and 16 per cent of respondents have needed to take out additional loans to keep their business going.

In Whangamata, Breakers Motel owner Lynne Davis says she too has fared well since Aucklanders flocked to the coast mid-December.

"I really sympathise with some of the other motels that are finding it difficult because August and September were guestless here, it is a real struggle.

"If they're paying a mortgage or big leases, they're going to find it really difficult to move forward and it's now critical."

Many moteliers say emergency housing clientele are a very different clientele to holidaymakers.

"We've been approached to provide emergency housing but we're not keen to do that."

Simpson said National has proposed solutions so that "hardworking, aspirational, everyday people can see a path to homeownership".

These were reducing compliance costs that drive up the price of new housing and fixing the Consumer Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act which has cut access to bank lending, he said.

• The HAF included $350 million for a Māori Infrastructure Fund and combined with an investment of $380 million from Budget 2021 this created the biggest ever investment in Māori housing through Whai Kāinga Whai Oranga.

• Labour says it is lifting the wellbeing and incomes of those on the lowest incomes in New Zealand, for example by increasing benefit rates, working for families tax credits, and the minimum wage.