July 24, 2013
Regions vital in housing strategy
Labour’s Māori affairs spokesperson says regional development is one of the measures needed to address the country’s housing crisis.
The Reserve Bank is considering requiring a larger minimum deposit for home loans to tackle what is seen as an emerging bubble in house prices.
Shane Jones says that it will hurt young Māori would-be home owners, many of whom have poor credit histories.
He says Labour’s plan is to address a shortage of supply by building 100,000 homes over 10 years.
He says that is likely to involve intensification of parts of the largest city, Auckland, but other areas also need help.
"I hope more of our Māori folk will think about relocating to the regions, to the Napier's, the New Plymouths, the Whangarei's, the Rotorua's, and not all be flocking to what is becoming an overcrowded city in terms of congestion, i.e. Tāmaki Makaurau," Mr Jones says.
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