Auckland Council will set a goal to bring down the ratio of median home purchase price-to-median household income to five-to-one by 2030. The ratio is currently almost 10-to-one.
The new goal was a key recommendation made in the report Housing Supply, Choice and Affordability. The report was presented to the council’s Auckland Development Committee on 15 October 2015.
The committee agreed, in principle, to include the target in the forthcoming refresh of the Auckland Plan. It noted that the council needs to continue to work in partnership with the government if this housing affordability target were to be met.
The committee also agreed to commission further analysis and advice on the issue of housing affordability in consultation with government agencies, to be completed in February 2016.
Chris Parker, Auckland Council chief economist and author of the report, welcomed the decision and the council’s ongoing commitment to tackling this issue.
“Including the target to reduce the price to income ratio down to five-to-one in the Auckland Plan is a really positive step towards making housing more affordable,” Mr Parker says.
“It will help shape and focus our thinking moving forward. It will provide us with a tangible, achievable goal to frame up the decisions the council needs to make to create the world's most liveable city including affordable housing."
Auckland Development Committee chair, Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse, says that the decision was very easy for the committee to make.
“Every councillor knows there are real challenges ahead of us in tackling Auckland’s very serious housing issue. The target is something real to keep us focused and, by setting a goal, we can continue to make every effort and use every lever to make homes more affordable.”
