Headline: Where are the affordable homes, Mr Key?
The Prime Minister has admitted that there’s no guarantee a single affordable house will be built as a result of the government’s Housing Accord, says Labour Leader David Shearer.
“National has completely failed first home buyers. House prices in Auckland have risen by 36 per cent since John Key became Prime Minister, and prices nationwide are forecast by Treasury to rise by up to 46 per cent over the next four years.
“And in Parliament today John Key had to admit that his government does not have a target for the building of affordable housing as part of the Housing Accord with Auckland City. He ducked and dived, but refused to give any guarantee that entry level homes will built.
“Basically John Key’s policy is to leave it to the developers and hope that they build affordable homes. Well, here’s a news flash for him – they won’t.
“Currently just 5 per cent of new homes being built are at the affordable end of the market, and there is nothing in the Housing Accord that will change that. John Key could not point to a single measure that will require developers to build entry level homes.
“Only Labour has a comprehensive policy to tackle housing affordability. We will get stuck in and build 10,000 affordable homes per year through KiwiBuild, and introduce a Capital Gains Tax to discourage property speculation.
“The government’s leave-it-to-the-market approach has failed. National is sitting on the side lines while homeownership slips even further out of reach for tens of thousands of Kiwis,” says David Shearer.
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