Apartments are Auckland’s future

Greater densification is on the cards for Auckland - but Aucklanders will need to better embrace apartment living, commentators say.

Monday, July 27th 2015, 1:48PM

by Miriam Bell

Discussion on the removal of density controls in revisions to the SuperCity’s controversial Unitary Plan is currently under way.

Following a public outcry in 2013, a clause which put no limit on the density of apartments on sections greater than 1,200 metres in some areas was dropped from the plan.

But the Council has now submitted a revised draft of the plan to the Independent Hearings Panel, which reintroduces the controversial density clause. It also removes a blanket ban on redeveloping sections with houses built before 1944.

These changes mean Auckland is likely to see a significant increase in the development of apartments and townhouses.

Densification remains a controversial issue for the public.

However, Auckland’s housing shortage is currently estimated to be around 30,000 houses and the Productivity Commission has forecast that it will rise to 60,000 houses by 2020.

Many parties - including the Government, the Reserve Bank, the Productivity Commission and the Council’s chief economist - have emphasised that densification could be one solution to the problem.

Auckland Property Investors Association president Andrew Bruce thinks the loosening of density controls makes sense.

He said that it was a pragmatic approach to take for the overall good of Auckland - especially when it came to first-home buyers.

“There’s not much debate that Auckland has an undersupply of houses and many parties are grappling with that issue.

“Maybe people will just have to move away from the traditional Kiwi quarter acre property dream and embrace the idea of apartment living.”

This will require a change in the mindsets of many, Bruce said.

“It is part of the growing pains of a younger city, but changing lifestyles and overseas patterns suggest it is the way of the future.”

Recent research by economic analysis company Infometrics also showed that Aucklanders need to become more comfortable with apartments.

Infometrics chief forecaster Gareth Kiernan said New Zealanders’ aspirations about the size of house and amount of land they can own are not realistically aligned with actual incomes and wealth positions.

“Land prices are particularly critical in Auckland and, by clinging to the Kiwi dream that we should all be able to own our little piece of New Zealand, a significant proportion of society is effectively being priced out of the housing market.”

Home buyers’ expectations need to be realigned to a greater acceptance of terraced housing and apartments as liveable options, Kiernan said.

“The reality is that, in larger urban areas overseas, having your own private yard is simply not viable for most of the population.

“New Zealanders need to accept the need for a more intensive dwelling stock – both potential buyers, as well as existing property owners who can be resistant to more intensive housing developments in their neighbourhoods.”

*The Independent Hearings Panel is currently hearing submissions on the Unitary Plan. It is scheduled to recommend a final version of the Plan to the Council next year.

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