Over 150 new homes are currently under construction or in development by the 
(New Zealand) Housing Foundation, Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust and other providers thanks to the Government’s Progressive Home Ownership programme. And the good news is there are a lot more new homes to come.

Dominic Foote, KiwiBuy Coalition Chair, acknowledges that progress has been slow as Government agencies and officials had no previous experience or knowledge in delivering a Progressive Home Ownership programme with housing supports. The programme is now gathering pace following the launch of the scheme aimed at low income families; the first to get long-term government commitment and financial backing.

Over the last 18 months, these community providers have been working closely with the Government to help design its $400m Progressive Home Ownership (PHO) programme to support several thousand households into their first home. The providers say that many more people can be assisted if funding is increased and extended annually.

“We’ve been advocating for government to fund these internationally tested and accepted PHO products which the Community Housing sector has been using for the past 20 years. Between us, we’ve delivered new Shared Equity, Rent-to-Buy and Leasehold homes along with housing supports, enabling thousands of families who previously had no hope of owning their home to become homeowners. There has never been more demand for our PHO products and new homes,” says Mr Foote.

Criticising the Progressive Home Ownership programme at the point when it is on the brink of delivering is ridiculous, said Mr Foote. Progressive Home Ownership is the only way many Kiwi families will have a chance of reaching their home ownership dream. Annual and sustained commitment to this programme to grow its potential must be a key lever for any Government committed to putting Kiwis into homes of their own.

Previous Governments have sat on their hands watching New Zealand's housing crisis grow, while Community Housing providers were busy in the trenches, laying the foundations for systems and solutions that will house Kiwis affordably and securely.

We’re already delivering homes in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Nelson, Wellington and Queenstown and we are ready to scale up our work when the Government announces phase two.

"Housing need across New Zealand is wide-ranging and substantial", says KiwiBuy coalition chair Dominic Foote. The progress could be faster, but let's save the criticism for when nothing is happening, rather than kick the dirt and knock out the fast-growing plant of Progressive Home Ownership.”

© Scoop Media