Housing plan: Cracker or a dud?

at minimum wage.

There are plenty of reasons why this could fail, including a building industry hard-wired to the hammer and nail and already working at capacity, the high cost of land and lack of supply (particularly in Auckland), the constraints and cost of red-tape, and the expectations of buyers sold on large homes with many bedrooms and bathrooms. Not to mention the established communities that may balk at the growth of medium-density housing in their backyards.

If Twyford is to tackle this crisis meaningfully he’s going to need to tick all of these and a few more off his list. He’s going to have to preside over one of the biggest transformations in New Zealand building history. The key appears to be scale. It needs to be a transformation in deed as well as intent.

Twyford has identified the use of panelisation and offsite manufacturing as important planks in building the response to this crisis.

To that end it’s interesting to note that the Government is looking at significant partnerships with key players in the industry, including builders Fletchers and Mike Greer.

The former recently constructed a house in a day in Auckland and is considering building a factory in the city to manufacture ready-to-assemble panels for its own builders and other companies.

Other firms are ready to go with similar technology that can build hundreds of houses a year. They’re ready to make that investment and just need a big customer whose orders can guarantee a steady line of supply.

If it’s the Government’s job to maximise the scale of investment and pull the levers to get the market moving, then it will be up to the homebuyers and their neighbours to understand the other end of the spectrum: that less is more.

Twyford wants to deliver ‘‘affordable’’ houses, priced at between $500,000 and $600,000, for first-home buyers. And those buying will be bonded for five years. If they sell before then, any capital gain will go to the government.

Most of these affordable and social houses are likely to be smaller, medium-density houses built on tiny sections; some will be built in new subdivisions, while others are likely to be constructed on land within established neighbourhoods and communities.

That will involve a transformation in thinking from not only those people buying the houses but also the neighbour over the fence.

These are all real and realistic challenges and failing in one could leave the whole puzzle unfinished.

Which would make for a most disappointing Christmas present.