The extension of the Government’s Housing Accords and Special Housing Area (SHA) legislation may have provided breathing space for the Queenstown Lakes District Council, but there is still no room for complacency.
The extension legislation was passed this week, and will primarily help deal with the Auckland housing crisis and the city’s transition to its new unitary plan, due to take effect next week.
In the South, however, it will also be of huge benefit to Queenstown, where seven SHAs have been recommended by the council and approved by the Government under the joint Special Housing Accord, designed to fast-track land supply, and increase housing availability and affordability.
The QLDC is clearly relieved.
There was much uncertainty as key sections of the legislation neared expiry this month.
Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith’s reluctance to comment on the issue while his focus was on the unitary plan only added to the unease.
However, while there is now breathing space, there is no time to waste.
Because of demand, the Queenstown accord’s initial target has already been raised — yet not one house has been built under the accord.
In August, the council rejected proposals for two SHAs. At the same time the region’s median house price gain topped the country.
Of the seven approved SHAs, the only signs of progress are on the Bridesdale Farm subdivision.
In the meantime, prices have continued to escalate. In July, Real Estate Institute of New Zealand figures showed Queenstown Lakes’ median house price was $910,000.
August Quotable Value figures show the average house price is now more than $930,000.
The region is likely to soon reach the unenviable average house price milestone of $1 million, which Auckland hit last month.
Indeed, within the region, Arrowtown and Kelvin Heights have already done so.
That must cause a communal shudder for New Zealanders.
For even those who are sitting pretty on high-value property, even those who are reaping the rewards as speculators, are likely to have children who will be among those locked out of the property market.
Where do they go?
What will they do?
Will they feel like outcasts?
And how might that further impact on society?
The Government’s fast-tracked approval process can only do so much.
The changes mean recently approved SHAs can be cancelled if developers have not lodged resource consent applications.
That makes sense to discourage land-banking, but it does not allow much leeway for negotiations — which there will inevitably be when the council is balancing development, infrastructure and landscape values.
Developers must have the i’s dotted and t’s crossed, the council must pull out all the stops to get consents processed in a timely fashion so any conditions imposed can be quickly addressed by developers, and residents and potential homeowners must be prepared to shed their nimbyism and expectations.
For the problems are no longer Queenstown’s alone.
As prices there spiral, there is a domino effect elsewhere in the region.
While growth in some of those smaller towns is desirable, it also needs to be sustainable and egalitarian.
Now, more than ever, the community must work together to ensure it does not emulate Auckland’s big-city problems.
Caution is desirable, but so too is a dose of reality.
With local body elections imminent, a new council might be more bullish in its approach.
As an increasing number of people struggle to find any — let alone affordable — housing, compromise is a necessity.
Some building is desperately needed to take the heat out of the market, especially while interest rates remain low.
Only then can the community take a real breather and address the longer-term shape of the region.
More time will only create an even greater divide between the haves and have-nots.
Speed is of the essence so our little slice of paradise can remain accessible to all New Zealanders.
