The Government can't keep up with housing demand in Auckland. The latest building consent figures reveal a 5000-home shortfall in the past year.
But Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith says progress is being made, despite predictions Auckland could be 60,000 homes short by 2020.
Building activity is on the rise, but nowhere near enough to keep up with Auckland's ferocious demand.
Dr Smith says the Government "needs to keep the foot hard on the accelerator".
In the past year, just over 8000 consents for new homes in Auckland were issued. That's up 20 percent on a year ago.
But to keep up with Auckland's booming population, it's estimated 13,000 homes need to be built each year.
"What I would note is that over the last three years we've had 20 percent growth three years in a row," says Dr Smith
Labour's housing and Auckland issues spokesman Phil Twyford believes Auckland is slipping behind every year.
"The shortfall is getting worse and worse [and] that's why house prices are rocketing way out of reach of ordinary people."
The Productivity Commission estimates the total shortfall in Auckland is now around 32,000 homes.
"Those numbers are too high, but I do think we have a shortage," Dr Smith says.
While there's been an increase in new homes being built, it's still well short of what's needed, so the shortfall just gets bigger and bigger.
And until the gap is plugged, simple economics of supply and demand mean Auckland's big price rises are set to continue.
3 News
source: newshub archive
