Business Central February 2021

54 | DEVELOPMENT Atlas Property The new shape of residential housing Richard Loader Atlas Property has recently completed this development in Hamilton’s Gordonton Road, consisting of 27 two-storey townhouses. Phone: (07) 856 9097 Mobile: 0274 317 132 Email: steve@gahughes.co.nz | www.gahughesltd.com G rowing up at the tail end of the baby boom generation, life was comfortable with Christmas holidays at the beach, food on the table and the expectation of real - izing the great Kiwi dream—a roomy house on a quarter acre section in a leafy suburb. Of course, those were gentler times— Christmas cards still decorated the venetian blinds in the lounge, credit cards and the internet hadn’t been thought of and the world was yet to discover the natural beauty of clean green New Zealand that would give rise to the tourism boom. Mind you, in 1975 a 26-inch colour tele would set you back around $840—more than $8000 in today’s money. It wasn’t until late in 1973 that New Zea - land’s population actually reached the magic three million milestone—only tipping 3.2 million by the end of the decade. Now, into the second decade of the second millennium, living in a team of five million and rising, the pace of life in New Zealand is infinitely faster and everything is different—in - cluding the reality of the great Kiwi dream. The current reality is there simply isn’t enough housing being built in much of New Zealand, including the Central Region. Atlas Property Ltd manages the develop - ment of mostly townhouses in Hamilton and Auckland, along with three-storey apartments. The team behind Atlas Property has been developing property for Kiwis for 18 years. With a focus on the townhouse market, first home buyers are Atlas Property’s primary sector. The company has recently completed a housing development in Hamilton’s Gor - donton Road, consisting of 27 two-storey townhouses, while the finishing touches are being put on 29 inner city apartments in Vialou Street. Andrew Yeoman, Atlas Property’s founder, says in the central region there isn’t enough of the right type of residential zoning that permits the better density housing that Auck- land’s Unitary Plan provides. “We need more better zoned land—this doesn’t need to be on greenfield locations, but more so on infill locations throughout much of the towns and cities throughout the Central Region. “I’m not saying there shouldn’t be large sec- tions allowed, I think there’s certainly a place for that. But this isn’t an affordable product and shouldn’t be thought of as such. With land prices so high, the larger lot homes—over 400sqm—are really going to be at a premi - um price; so we need more zoning to permit greater density to allow for more affordable homes to balance out the more expensive homes on larger lots.” Andrew accepts that one of the biggest challenges to combat in regard to higher density infill housing is ‘Nimbyism’—Not in my back yard—and says that is where strong leadership from central and local government is required. “People want affordable housing—except those who already own a house on a big bit of land. “I think if it gets to the point where more people are demanding more affordable housing than the amount of people who want to live on their expensive large under utilised sections close to town centres, then the gov - ernment / council has to act.” Andrew points to Christchurch’s response following the earthquake crisis, making large amounts of residential land available, with the Government providing the infrastructure. “The government needs to step up and pro- vide the infrastructure that we need to be able to build more houses and cut the red tape that causes time delays and hinders houses being brought online quicker—I’m talking RMA reform.” While the lack of infrastructure and zoned land place roadblocks in the way of badly needed property development to alleviate the housing crisis, Andrew says financing is also becoming a challenge in the current environ- ment. “With funding becoming very difficult for de - velopers the result is that less developments get underway, therefore less housing and more demand for the limited stock being re - leased—which ultimately means higher prices. If the Government wants to keep prices under control there needs to be more housing built. An idea could be to expand on the current Reserve Bank “Funding for Lending” to target new home construction.” While the Kiwi dream of owning a four-bed - room home in a quarter acre slice of heaven within the city or town walls may now be out of reach for many, local and central govern - ment must do more to enable the traction necessary for development that will alleviate the housing crisis and ultimately stabilise pricing. Fifty years on from 1970s New Zealand the Kiwi dream may be beyond the reach of many—but perhaps a rethink is also neces- sary on the new norm in terms of residential housing.