Auckland's affordable housing price cap up to $650,000

Construction at Hobsonville Point, Auckland. Photo / Dean Purcell.

The price cap for affordable homes built under the Auckland Council's housing accord is set to rise.

More than 200 homes are to be built at Hobsonville Point's 7.4ha Sunderland precinct aimed at tackling Auckland's housing shortage and fast tracking construction of affordable housing.

Hobsonville Land Company (HLC), a fully owned subsidiary of Housing New Zealand, which is spearheading the project, announced today that the price cap for its Axis Series homes will rise to $650,000 from $550,000.

HLC chief executive Chris Aiken said income caps will also be adjusted to align with the KiwiSaver HomeStart grants, and to allow for more two- and three-bedroom homes to be built.

"Rising construction costs has made it harder for our builders to deliver these homes under our current cap, and we risked losing diversity in our new stock as builders reduced home size to deliver within the price cap," Aiken said.

The change was the second market adjustment made by HLC since launching the homes at Hobsonville Point in 2012.

From July 1, 2017, Income cap for applications for Axis Series homes rise from $120,000 a year to $130,000 for couples, and would come down from $120,000 to $85,000 for individuals, in line with the HomeStart grant criteria.

As at May 31, 422 Axis series homes had been sold at Hobsonville Point.