National's "more affordable" homes for hobbits

National’s plan for slightly “more affordable” homes at the Hobsonville development is little more than a cruel joke, says Labour’s Housing spokesperson Annette King.

“Housing affordability is a serious problem, with hundreds of thousands of Kiwis locked out of home ownership because of a shortage of entry-level affordable homes.

“The Government’s grand plan is to tinker at the edges, and build a few hundred slightly less expensive properties in Auckland’s Hobsonville development.  But even the Housing Minister Phil Heatley can’t pretend that the planned $400-485,000 properties are actually affordable – today he’s calling them “more affordable.”

“Even that’s a bit of a stretch.  According to the Department of Building and housing the international accepted measure of housing affordability is that the cost of servicing a mortgage should not exceed 30 per cent of household income.  Based on that, someone looking to buy into a “more affordable” home in Hobsonville will need an annual income of up to $110,000.

“And what’s more, some these homes will be as small as 65 square-metres.  That’s not a family home, it’s more like a hobbit house.

“Phil Heatley and John Key should just come clean and admit that they have no plan to address housing affordability, and no intention of trying to.

“Labour’s KiwiBuild policy will make a real difference, and put 100,000 families into their first homes over ten years.  Labour won’t just sit back and watch as the dream of home ownership slips away for so many Kiwis.

“It’s not complicated – there is a huge shortage of affordable homes, so we should get stuck in and build them,” says Annette King.