Report to reveal extent of NZ housing crisis

Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford has commissioned three of New Zealand’s leading experts to provide an independent stocktake of New Zealand's housing crisis.

Economist Shamubeel Eaqub, Professor Philippa Howden-Chapman, and analyst Alan Johnson have been tasked with establishing an informed picture of the state of housing in New Zealand today, drawing on the best data available. The report will put firm figures on homelessness, the state of the rental market, the decline of homeownership, and other factors in the housing crisis, enabling the government to prioritise and channel funding effectively.

Minister Phil Twyford said that the Labour-led government only learned of MBIE’s official figures indicating a nationwide shortfall of 71,000 houses when the new government came to office. “The previous government never acknowledged or accepted the official numbers, and also refused to accept its own official definition of homelessness”, he said.

The Labour-led Government is pushing ahead with initiatives to make housing more affordable and healthy, including banning overseas speculators, passing the Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill, cancelling the state house selloff, and setting up KiwiBuild.

The report is due before Christmas.