Mitchell Mark: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMitchell Mark: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 13 February 2014. Volume:696;Page:15926. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]7.MARK MITCHELL (National—Rodney) to theMinister of Housing: What reports has he received on positive progress being advanced on the Government’s housing agenda?Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister of Housing): The fourth quarter report for 2013 on new house builds shows the strongest growth in more than a decade. In Auckland it saw 1959 new homes consented—up 74 percent on the same time in 2012. To put this house build rate in the context of the Auckland accord targets we were building 4000 houses a year. We are aiming for 9000 houses per year and the latest quarter data annualises out at 7800 per year. In Christchurch it saw 894 new homes consented. That is a trebling on the same quarter of a year earlier. These encouraging numbers are an all-time high and show the huge pace of the momentum in the Christchurch rebuild. Nationally new home builds were 9200 for the quarter and up 32 percent on the same period in 2012. These encouraging numbers indicate that New Zealand will build over 25000 new houses this year—the highest in a decade.Mark Mitchell: What reports has the Minister received on housing affordability and how it compares historically?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: There are three independent measures of housing affordability and all of them show that it has improved under this Government. TheDemographia survey which measures the ratio of average house price to income shows that it is currently 5.5—significantly less than 6.3 in 2008. The Roost survey compares the proportion of an average person’s income that would go on a mortgage in an average-priced house. It shows that affordability was at its worst in 2008 at 83.4 percent and it is currently 60.7 percent. The Massey University housing affordability index shows that it too was at its worst 6 years ago at 33.9 percent and is now 21.8 percent. The average of these surveys shows that housing affordability has actually improved by 30 percent since 2008.Mark Mitchell: What reports has the Minister received on the claim that Auckland house prices are now higher than Melbourne’s?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I have received an email from the Real Estate Institute that says that this claim is false. The median house price in Melbourne is A$643000 or in Kiwi terms $696000. The median house price it advises me in Auckland is 16 percent less at $600000. The claim was based on comparing central Auckland City house prices with Melbourne-wide figures. This is plainly misleading but is what we have come to expect from the tricky crew opposite.Phil Twyford: What does he say to the Chief Human Rights Commissioner David Rutherford who says that the housing shortage in Canterbury is the country’s most pressing human rights challenge and to what extent have his slowness to act on the housing crisis and his refusal to admit that his housing policy is a shambles added to the stress and pain of Cantabrians over the last 3 years?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: What the Human Rights Commission report shows is that the Canterbury earthquakes were the biggest natural disaster that this country has faced—something that members opposite ignore. I draw to that member’s attention that in the last quarter a record—an all-time record—number of new houses were built. I would further draw the member’s attention to the claim by Labour just after the Christchurch earthquakes that the biggest concern for Christchurch was that its house prices were going to collapse—something that I noticed has not actually occurred.Phil Twyford: Does he believe that recent Quotable Value data showing that the number of first-home buyers is now at the lowest level in 3 years is a sign that his housing policies are working; if not how many photo opportunities will it take to change the minds of first-home buyers and convince them that he knows what he is doing?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I would simply refer to the facts and they are that housing affordability in New Zealand was at its worst in history after 9 years of a Labour Government. Those are the facts on all the independent surveys. I would also draw the member’s attention to today’s report from Standard and Poor’s. Standard and Poor’s has said that the loan-to-value ratios introduced by our Reserve Bank are having the effect of containing house price inflation—a measure that has been opposed by members opposite.