Nick Smith on 'magical bus tour' to showcase Govt housing plans

Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith on tour.

Updated 12.15PM: The tour has just visited the Tamaki regeneration area where 7500 houses are planned over the next 10-15 years, replacing 2500 existing homes. The area encompasses 900 ha including reserve land.

Dr Smith said some reserve land would be developed where appropriate, but only in consultation with the community and where it improved public amenity.

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Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith has embarked on a "magical bus tour" to showcase the Government's plans to free up land for desperately needed housing.

The Government will today unveil the first batch of crown owned land parcels it is offering to private developers in a bid to deliver up to 10,000 new homes.

The moves were announced in last week's Budget and aim to help alleviate a severe shortage of housing supply in the nation's biggest city and slow house price inflation which is running at about 18 per cent.

Dr Smith has embarked upon a bus tour of Auckland this morning to unveil the first parcels of crown owned land to be offered up for private housing development, with a dozen media representatives in tow.

They have just visited an existing 24ha development site in Papakura on former New Zealand Defence Force land where 600 homes are being built.

Dr Smith said by partnering with private housing companies the Government could increase housing supply but also "drive pace" to prevent land banking and demand a proportion of "affordable" homes priced under $550,000 to meet the Kiwisaver home start grant scheme threshold.

The tour has visited a development site at Waimahia Inlet where 282 homes will be built, 180 of them for a range of community housing providers.

Dr Smith said 50 homes had already been built and another 29 were under construction. He cited the speed of progress as testament to the special housing area zoning, which enabled fast track consenting. The land had previously been owned by the education ministry and CYF but had sat vacant for the last 15 years. Now "282 families are being able to find a warm house in an area that in my view is pretty desirable".

Dr Smith has confirmed he is announcing four surplus crown owned land parcels today that will be offered to developers.

They will total 30 ha and 600 homes are envisaged for the sites.

The bus tour will visit at least eight sites today though details of the new land parcels are embargoed until 4pm after Dr Smith outlines the project to private sector development companies.