A new affordable housing development has been officially opened in the Auckland suburb of Avondale by the Minister of Housing, Hon Dr Megan Woods, today.

The Aroha development marks the completion of 117 apartments, of which 47 are affordable KiwiBuild homes, on Auckland’s Great North Road.

“This development is an example of a Government partnership with iwi and private developers to deliver affordable housing,” said Dr Woods.

“I see every day how the partnerships we make are critical to the delivery of affordable housing. I signed the development agreement for this proposal in December 2020 and it is pleasing to see it completed just two and a half years later.

“This is another illustration of this Government’s work to turn around the housing crisis we inherited. It is just one of many green shoots of change, with record house building and significant investment in infrastructure like pipes and roads to unlock more housing supply.

“Alongside investing in infrastructure, recent increases to the KiwiBuild pricing caps have seen more proposal for Government-underwritten projects in the six months to December, than in the previous two years.

“Given the significant interest from experienced housing developers and our changes to the scheme's settings, I expect momentum to continue in the next six to 12 months.

“I want to congratulate the developers, Marutūāhu Ockham, and acknowledge their successful partnership with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s Land for Housing programme,” Megan Woods said.

The partnership with Marutūāhu Ockham has resulted in four contracted developments that will deliver 541 high quality apartments, including 199 KiwiBuild homes.

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