KEY POINTS:
Helen Clark has announced a further prong to Labour's home affordability starter scheme.
It involves making Crown land available for people to build starter homes.
Dubbed the HOPE program (Home Ownership on the Public Estate), the home owner will only pay for the house to be built and the Crown will continue to own the land.
She said Labour would make 1500 sites available in Auckland over the next four years.
She said a two to three bedroom starter home could be built for around $165,000 and would make home ownership affordable for families on the average wage of around $44,000.
Helen Clark said the move would dramatically drop the cost of a home.
The scheme was similar to one proposed by National, but under National's policy the home owner would eventually be able to buy the land.
Helen Clark said Labour would not allow the land to be sold and they wished the home to remain affordable into the future.
- with NZPA
