Almost 500 people are now on a waiting list for assistance to buy homes or get into rental properties in the Queenstown-Lakes district.
At Happiness House Trust's annual meeting in Queenstown yesterday, Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust executive officer Julie Scott said demand was at a record level.
As of yesterday there were 483 people on the waiting list, and numbers were ''creeping up every month''.
A decade ago, the trust was helping people get on the property ladder.
Now, half the waiting list comprised people looking for secure, affordable rental properties, she said.
The trust had helped 160 households into properties since 2007, which she said was ''not massive''.
However, given the ever-increasing need, it now needed to ''ramp up'' its programme and delivery.
''We need to aim higher.''
It was looking at either buying land for its own large-scale development or entering into a joint venture with a private developer to help achieve its goal of delivering 1000 affordable homes to the district over the next 10 years.
The trust had never been in a stronger position in terms of the support it was receiving from the Queenstown Lakes District Council, which was ''committed to delivering the resources that we're going to need to be able to deliver those 1000 houses'', she said.
Next year, the trust would also launch its Secure Home programme at Onslow Rd, bordering Lake Hayes Estate, where 14 homes were planned.
Under that scheme, homeowners would lease their sections from the trust in perpetuity, paying about $6000 per annum in rent.
The rental would provide the trust with a low return on land but would enable homeowners to buy homes with affordable mortgages.
Previously, the trust had used a shared ownership model, under which a qualifying household had to raise at least 70% of the value of the property and the trust contributed the remainder.
Ms Scott said that model was ''not really working in the current property environment'', largely due to ever-increasing property prices.
The replacement scheme would give households ''every benefit'' of home ownership, with the exception of being able to make ''massive capital gains'', which should help to keep properties affordable, she said.
