27 July 2015

Auckland Council and Property Council welcome housing feasibility report

Today Auckland Council has welcomed a new report that provides up-to-date information on the feasibility on how many houses could be built under the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan (PAUP) based on current market conditions.

The Auckland Council Development Capacity Model 2015 calculates how many houses the market is likely to build under the PAUP planning controls.

It estimates approximately 64,000 additional dwellings could be developed under today’s market conditions within the Metropolitan Urban Limit (MUL). This excludes Housing New Zealand properties, which could accommodate at least 19,000 additional dwellings. It also excludes development potential outside of the MUL including approximately 20,000 additional dwellings in SHAs (Special Housing Areas). It isn’t a forecast into the future, rather it is up-to-the-minute information based on today’s market in land values and sales prices in different parts of the region.

Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse says “This is an exciting report as it shows us a clear snap shot in time of the feasibility of how much housing could be built in Auckland. We now have access to a very useful tool which can help us test the effect of our rules on development potential. This will assist with sensible decision-making as we finalise the Unitary Plan.”

Property Council chief executive Connal Townsend says “We’re very pleased with the expert group’s report as well as the growth capacity model. We look forward to working collaboratively with Auckland Council and other agencies as we now have a much more realistic idea about how many homes are deliverable under the current plan, and what we need to do to achieve the 400,000 target in the Auckland Plan.”

Over the coming months the Development Capacity Model will be one of the inputs into the PAUP process. It will be a relevant factor to consider when the council reviews the submissions to rezone many thousands of properties across Auckland. The re-zoning hearings are scheduled to take place in March and April 2016.

ENDS

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