28 August 2016

Govt backing land bankers, not house builders

The National Government is choosing to protect the profits of a few land bankers rather than create real incentives to build houses in Auckland, the Green Party said today.

Thousands of listings for land in Auckland are now advertised for their potential as land banks. Land banking has also been allowed in the Government’s Special Housing Areas (SHAs) where there hasn’t been any building activity in 97 of the 157 Auckland SHAs.

“National won’t make the tough decisions to stop land banking because they’re afraid to doing anything that could hit land bankers and property speculators in the pocket, said Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei.

“National continues to ignore advice on a range of measures that would discourage land banking and encourage houses to be built.

“Building homes for New Zealanders, not protecting land bankers’ profit, should be the priority for the Government.

“National needs to stand up to land bankers rather than lay out the red carpet for them.

“National’s own SHAs haven’t even required land owners to build houses by any particular date. No wonder developers are choosing to watch land prices rise rather than build houses.

“It’s time for the Government to put families first, and use the tools available to discourage land banking and encourage house building,” said Ms Turei.

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