Wainui houses hit $500,000 as shortage looms
That there is a big demand for the Wainuiomata properties reflects the harsh reality that there is a severe shortage of available land in the city.
Five years ago, people would have laughed at the suggestion a new house in Wainuiomata would sell for $500,000.
That it is now a reality, which is both good and bad news for Lower Hutt. Hutt City Council has invested just over $1 million to open up housing at the end of Wise St that could eventually see up to 350 homes built. At Parkway Rise a further 58 houses are under construction in Wainuiomata.
That there is a big demand for the Wainuiomata properties reflects the harsh reality that there is a severe shortage of available land in the city.
The council’s Urban Growth Strategy has set some ambitious targets for 2032.
The targeted population growth is 8000 but to achieve that requires an increase of ‘‘at least’’ 6000 new homes. That is because the average size of households is falling, meaning fewer people are living in more homes.
Four years ago Mayor Ray Wallace raised the prospect of building 1500 homes in Upper Fitzherbert, a rural area north of Wainuiomata.
The bold plan included a $38 million road linking it to Naenae.
When he first raised it, it went down like a lead balloon with rural land owners who feared the loss of their lifestyle.
The idea was shelved but Wallace now says it is time for a fresh debate.
Building the thousands of new homes needed is clearly a big challenge but it is not all doom and gloom.
In recent years, new home builds have averaged around 250 per year.
Development incentives made available for new dwellings have resulted in an almost four-fold increase since 2012, from 115 to 445 in 2016.
There has also been a significant growth in apartments, mostly in Petone. A 48 apartment block is under construction on the old Fireman’s Arms site and another proposed on Jackson St would have up to 82 units. A smaller upmarket development in Cuba St will take apartment living to a new level, indicating developers believe buyers are now willing to pay Wellington prices.
City Development manager Gary Craig notes that the increase in new homes is important to the future of the city.
In 2011, the number of new homes in the Hutt represented 11 per cent of those built across the region (Wellington, Upper Hutt and Porirua).
The figure is now 30 per cent, which means Hutt City is no longer falling behind Wellington City.
Future developments include Kelson, where developer Chris Mason plans to build at least 140 houses. Others include the old Lower Hutt Fire Station site and Shaftsbury Grove in Stokes Valley.