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We asked Rotorua's candidates for the general election how they would address housing affordability in Rotorua.
Todd McClay, incumbent Rotorua MP, National party
Helping Rotorua locals into home ownership is a priority.
Our HomeStart policy has been good for Rotorua. Access to KiwiSaver and grants of up to $20,000 have helped almost 600 local people buy a first home in the last two years.
We need more houses. I've proposed a Special House Accord between government and Rotorua Lakes Council. It will streamline council consents, free up sections, reduce cost and see more houses built.
Last year, just 121 new homes were consented in Rotorua, compared to 1695 in Tauranga. A Special Housing Accord will address sluggishness in new home consents and keep houses affordable.
Ben Sandford, Rotorua candidate, Labour party
Housing unaffordability is at crisis levels. This is driven by the staggering increase in the price of houses and nurtured by stagnant wages resulting in increased homelessness and huge amounts of people struggling to get by.
Rotorua deserves better than to have the second highest rate of homelessness in Aotearoa.
We will require all rentals to be warm, dry and healthy. We will build 100,000 affordable houses around New Zealand, grow emergency housing options and stop foreign speculators buying existing homes and driving property out of reach of everyday New Zealanders.
Richard Gillies, Rotorua candidate, Green party
Housing costs are too high for too many families in Rotorua.
The Green Party will curb housing speculation through a capital gains tax (excluding the family home), and get 15,000 low income families into home ownership through Home for Life rent-to-own schemes. Our Mending the Safety Net policy substantially raises benefits and the minimum wage, helping meet rising housing costs for our most vulnerable. Our rental policies will give renters stable, long-term tenancies in warm, healthy homes.
Fletcher Tabuteau, Rotorua-based list MP, New Zealand First
There are two reasons; the lack of homes being built and the huge pressure of overseas investors and unparalleled immigration into New Zealand. National and their coalition partners have done nothing.
Home ownership is the lowest in 63 years and Maori ownership in Rotorua has dropped nearly 40 per cent since 1986, less than 28 per cent own their own home. New Zealand First would stop foreigners buying our homes and establish a Housing Commission, the government would build more homes and we would assist people into owning them.
Te Ururoa Flavell, Waiariki candidate, Maori party
There is no question that the ability for some to get into a home has become more difficult as the value of houses rise on the back of demand for homes.
Increasing the supply of housing can help make housing more affordable which is why the Maori Party supported legislation to reform the Resource Management Act to do just that.
We can't have more homes available if people can't afford them, so we need to lift incomes and create more jobs. We also want to introduce a range of measures to make borrowing easier, including low interest loans and group equity funding.
Tamati Coffey, Waiariki candidate, Labour party
In the Waiariki electorate 62 per cent of people don't own their own homes.
House prices are going up, but wages aren't keeping pace. With the current median house price in Rotorua a standard 20 per cent deposit costs $71,000, which is near impossible for most families to save up for. Labour will build more affordable homes for first-home buyers. We'll also set up an affordable housing authority to cut through red tape and get houses built. We'll also make sure that the homes we build will be insulated and heated for Kiwi families.
OPINION: An unidentified woman vividly described her trip to the Pink and White Terraces.