‘Greenfield way to go for housing’

Real estate agent John Ross reckons the Hutt City Council’s move towards infill housing and apartments is wide of the mark.

The council is surveying residents on a range of changes to its District Plan that would radically alter its housing rules.

Apartments and terraced houses in 10 areas near transport links, shopping, parks and schools could dramatically change what the city looks like.

Other changes that were proposed include infill housing and allowing tiny houses.

"The $200,000 homes are now $400,000 plus and so there is no cheap land in the Hutt." Developer Rudy Van Baarle

Ross has lobbied the council for years, pushing for greenfield solutions to the housing shortage. He still favours a council proposal to change the zoning of rural land in Wainuiomata.

That could have seen up to 2000 houses built and would have gone a long way towards the council achieving its target of 6000 new houses by 2032.

Ross welcomed intensification but was doubtful it offered the solution the city desired.

To make it worthwhile to build apartments or terraced housing, developers would want to amalgamate properties to get an economy of scale

If a developer spent $700,000 to buy a property in a relatively affluent area like Waterloo, the cost of apartments would be prohibitive.

In areas like Taita and Naenae, there was scope for the council, Housing New Zealand and private developers to work together. A lot of the sections were large, making apartments financially feasible, he said.

New modern apartments would replace the older, run down housing stock and still be affordable.

The motivation behind the council’s proposed changes is to foster economic and population growth.

Between 2006 and 2013, the number of houses in Lower Hutt increased by 1.3 per cent. Across the region, the average was 4.9 per cent, while for Upper Hutt it was 6.1 per cent.

The declining size of households means Lower Hutt needs 170 new homes a year just to maintain its current population.

Ross said there was a real risk the city would continue to fall behind the rest of the region, which was why he favoured big greenfield developments.

He ‘‘commends’’ the council’s move towards freeing up the rules around apartments and infill housing but said a much bolder approach was needed.

Developer Rudy Van Baarle has been building houses in Lower Hutt for 40 years. He had been too busy to study the council’s proposal in detail but said the market was changing.

Younger buyers were looking for apartments and smaller houses rather than traditional Lower Hutt homes with a big garden.

The problem for developers was that land in Lower Hutt had risen dramatically in value.

‘‘Naenae used to be cheap. The $200,000 homes are now $400,000 plus and so there is no cheap land in the Hutt.’’

He hoped the council would not rush towards any move to intensify housing. Any change should be introduced gradually to allow home owners to get used to it.