Auckland stories
Transport industry groups say decades of stop-start planning could end if National’s $31 billion road and rail programme goes ahead.
The proposed $31 billion programme would reshape commuting in the upper North Island, while relying on RMA repeal and borrowing powers.
House prices and sales have climbed to four-year highs in New Zealand, despite earlier fears of a post-COVID downturn.
Property values have already slipped nationwide, with tourism-dependent centres like Queenstown hardest hit as the recession starts to bite.
Its 400-plus service points across Australasia are helping customers cut costly downtime as Hydraulink adds new distributors and branches.
The project will add 236 homes for older people and free up five hectares for future Government housing across Avondale and Blockhouse Bay.
Property sales jumped in May as lockdown eased, but volumes remained 46.6% below a year earlier and days to sell hit record highs.
Affordable townhouse projects in Auckland will get a lift as the non-bank lender commits GBP £75 million to new residential developments.
Auckland’s housing market has held up, with prices little changed after lockdown despite sales volumes halving in May.
Domestic travel spending could help cushion the sector as international arrivals slump and businesses await the effect of a new campaign.
Experts say the $50 billion COVID-19 recovery plan will lift jobs and infrastructure, but warn it leaves big tax and housing gaps.
New Zealand house prices climbed to a record high in April even as lockdown froze the market and sales volumes plunged 78.5%.
Better freight services and more reliable trains are set to follow, as the funding also covers new ferries and ageing locomotives.
Buyers in Auckland’s Belmont are being offered sustainably built terraced homes with electric bikes as New Zealand eases property viewing restrictions.
Queenstown looks most exposed, with tourism reliance and Airbnb saturation making its property market vulnerable to a COVID-19 downturn.
A slump in private development could let ministers add 9,400 state houses, easing a record waiting list and propping up builders.
Easing loan-to-value rules is only part of the fix, with commercial landlords warning wider support is needed to prevent a deeper downturn.
Access to cheaper medicinal cannabis for thousands of patients is expected to grow as licence applications are now under way.
Construction jobs and council investment could restart quickly, as Auckland submits 73 infrastructure projects for the Government’s stimulus list.
Transaction volumes are expected to fall sharply after lockdown, with weaker demand and limited listings likely to push prices lower.
