Kāinga Ora halts hundreds of housing developments, sells vacant land

This morning RNZ announced that Housing Minister Chris Bishop requires Kāinga Ora to halt hundreds of housing developments which would have delivered nearly 3500 homes, and sell a fifth of its vacant land.

On the surface, this looks bad, we know! However, we believe this is an opportunity in disguise. An opportunity for the public and private sector to work better together.

Here are large parcels of land (that are presumably good for housing). Councils are asking: “what can we do to relieve the pressures on the housing system?”. Private capital is circling and wants to invest. Instead of divesting them in the standard fashion, we believe councils and government agencies should work together to define the outcomes they want for these sites, and then encourage market-led proposals that respond to these objectives.

Our unsolicited bids (or market-led proposals’) framework is hardly ever used here in Aotearoa - we think it's time for this to change! We’re pleased to say we’re actively working with groups who can bring a step change in housing and social infrastructure delivery if this is the case.

What are your thoughts on the announcement? Get in touch with us to understand how these processes can deliver more effective public and private partnerships - and deliver the critical housing supply that we need to meet the diverse needs of New Zealanders.