Property speculators a 'blight' - developer

Chris Aiken, Hobsonville Land Co chief executive says they don't want a town of speculators. Photo: Dean Purcell.

Property speculators are a "blight" and unwelcome at Auckland's biggest new housing precinct, its boss says.

Chris Aiken, Hobsonville Land Company chief executive in charge of having about 3000 new residences built on the city's north-western outskirts, said owner-occupiers were the target of his business - not speculators.

"We want our buyers to get the capital gain, not short-term speculators.

"We think they're a blight. We're a crown agency trying to increase the supply for home owners and we want to form a community, to have people live here, send their kids to school here.

"We don't want a town of people who are speculators. They don't contribute anything to the community we're trying to build here if they're simply buying with the goal of selling at a profit," Aiken said.

About 650 residences are either under way or finished at the waterfront estate, connected to Auckland CBD via a ferry service.

"We're building and selling one new house a day," he said.

Aiken backed Government moves to tax those buying then selling a property within two years.

"If it takes the speculators out, that's a good thing. Anything that curbs speculation at the bottom end of the market is a good step," he said referring to extreme housing affordability issues.

Hobsonville Point's average prices are about $700,000 but Aiken said places were selling from around $450,000.

Public attention was focusing on first-home buyers, with little attention given to older people wanting to cash up or divorcees, both of whom struggle to find affordable places, he said.

"People want to move out of their bungalow and get an apartment in the same area but it costs more money to do that," he said, referring to a shortage of smaller places in many Auckland suburbs.

"Divorcees have serious housing affordability problems because they might only get half the settlement [on the sale of the house] and they then often can't afford a massive mortgage.

"Auckland's housing story is one of constrained housing supply at all price brackets," he said.

The Axis Series Small Home Test Labs were a big success, show casing places of only 40sq m, although more demand existed for 55sq m places, Aiken said.

Around 200 smaller places, in the 50sq m to 60sq m range, would be developed at Hobsonville Point, where 700 to 800 residences would be sold for 'affordable' prices.

Aiken called for new house construction methods, saying it offered speed and affordability advantages: "We're still building places like the Romans did. It should be modular, prefabricated. Why don't we import our houses? We're using more and more tilt slab."

A big new initiative to develop a new Hobsonville Point precinct with about 1000 new residences - many affordable - could be announced soon although no details have yet been released.