Public Address | Cafe | Speaker: What almost everyone is missing about KiwiBuild

Neil

Thu, 21 Nov 2019 10:53:20 +1300

The lack of government action on corruption in the apartment construction industry has been more than puzzling. The lack of action in reining in dishonest apartment management companies has also been puzzling.

Why has a center left government been so reluctant to act against corrupt business in order to protect…

Kumara Republic

Thu, 31 Oct 2019 22:24:12 +1300

And i wonder if NZ is learning anything at all from Vancouver's leaky apartments debacle.

Neil

Thu, 31 Oct 2019 10:15:58 +1300

Yes it’s a huge problem in Australia as well. It does seem to be finally getting a bit more political traction than here in NZ.

The construction minister Salesa is proposing home owners pay the builder’s insurance. A bit like pedestrians having to pay motorists’ insurance in the event they…

Moz

Tue, 29 Oct 2019 13:15:10 +1300

Note that those are systematic problems and you're only seeing one headline. In Victoria there's a weird situation where architects can't get professional liability insurance because of the huge liability from all the shitty buildings, so the government has removed that requirement. While also talking about imposing stricter requirements on…

Kumara Republic

Sun, 27 Oct 2019 18:09:35 +1300

Leaky buildings still being built highlighting the very urgent need for action especially action on laws governing apartment building management.

Currently, f you buy an apartment you’re taking on a very big risk.

The Opal Apartments in Sydney also come to mind.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-15/169-aparments-at-sydney-opal-tower-unoccupied-four-months-later/11002796

Ian Dalziel

Wed, 16 Oct 2019 09:46:16 +1300

1100 out of 1200 buildings tested show evidence of compromised construction
This has consequences for their end of use demolition as well – if those taking these buildings down are basing their methods on the original submitted plan rather than the actual construction.

Neil

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 00:26:08 +1300

Leaky buildings still being built highlighting the very urgent need for action especially action on laws governing apartment building management.

Currently, f you buy an apartment you’re taking on a very big risk.

Neil

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 00:01:45 +1300

I think I might have referred to this issue somewhere up thread:

Widespread defective or missing concrete or reinforcing steel revealed

1100 out of 1200 buildings tested show evidence of compromised construction. The true extent of which may not become known for many years leaving anyone owning an apartment in…

Neil

Thu, 12 Sept 2019 22:06:02 +1200

It’s all been overtaken by other events. Who would have thought that there was no te reo word for allegation that didn’t also imply rumour. Nudge nudge.

I don’t think it’s that surprising that a policy premised on demonising ethic groups winds up pouring money into property developers. If it…

Neil

Wed, 04 Sept 2019 22:16:41 +1200

Two years wasted and millions poured into the pockets of developers.

And it doesn’t look as though the government has learnt anything from this disaster.

No one forced them, as they are now claiming, to build houses no one wanted to buy. That was a choice.

It was also a…

Moz

Fri, 01 Mar 2019 20:25:16 +1300

the sale doesn't cover the mortgage?

that's the one. The term is "negative equity" and apparently about 20% of Sydney homeowners are in that position right now. I'm not. Yet.

Moz

Fri, 01 Mar 2019 11:41:50 +1300

It's worth noting that when the government (or the market) lowers the price of residential property and people do lose money on their properties, the ones who lose most are people who live in the house they own. To an investor the drop in price is a taxable event, so…

Kumara Republic

Thu, 28 Feb 2019 17:01:52 +1300

Meanwhile across the Tasman...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRSdiq3sOTc

Neil

Thu, 28 Feb 2019 00:19:59 +1300

I’ll hammer on again about the apartment issue as it’s a tsunami of pain heading our way soon and people considering buying an apartment should be very cautious.

1. NZ does not have a great deal of experience with apartment management and that shows in the the complete unfitness of…

Neil

Tue, 26 Feb 2019 21:13:54 +1300

By corruption I mean Corruption.

And that will be just the tip of the iceberg. More will follow.

What I expect a minister to do is to confront this rather than ignoring it.

What I expect a minister to do is reform the apartment governance laws that leave apartment owners…

linger

Sat, 02 Feb 2019 09:01:45 +1300

What do you think a Housing Minister can do about "corruption in the building industry" — by which you mean what, e.g. development, construction, regulation? — or for that matter, a systematic shortage of trained tradespeople and regulators? Agreed they shouldn't promise any short-term solution where none is possible, but…

Neil

Sat, 02 Feb 2019 07:52:29 +1300

Home owners in a luxury apartment building at Mount Maunganui have launched a $36 million civil suit against 16 defendants including Tauranga City Council, a prominent developer and a building company, after major defects were discovered.

These problem buildings are still being built after 30 years. Still ruining peoples’ lives and…

andin

Thu, 31 Jan 2019 19:34:58 +1300

to benefit the unscrupulous

Who that is is answered in the first link in the post, the developers.Their days are numbered now.

BenWilson

Thu, 31 Jan 2019 12:21:15 +1300

The biggest problem is the building industry itself which is at best dysfunctional and at worst corrupt. Throwing money at it is only going to benefit the unscrupulous, not first home buyers.

I'd say that the problem is well beyond one bogey, even though you are right that construction of…

Sacha

Thu, 31 Jan 2019 11:17:08 +1300

KiwiBuild is not the whole of the govt's housing policy. Their fault for letting that impression take hold however.

Neil

Thu, 31 Jan 2019 08:24:05 +1300

The government has finally had to admit what has been obvious for a while – their housing policy is not working.

The biggest problem is the building industry itself which is at best dysfunctional and at worst corrupt. Throwing money at it is only going to benefit the unscrupulous, not…

Sacha

Sat, 08 Dec 2018 09:56:31 +1300

And why is Twyford deliberately dragging his feet over making changes to apartment building governance laws

Good question. Seen no valid answer from him yet.

Sacha

Sat, 08 Dec 2018 09:55:19 +1300

The PM doesn’t appear impressed

So the reporters tell us. No actual evidence of that, but hey.

Neil

Fri, 07 Dec 2018 23:58:34 +1300

And why is Twyford deliberately dragging his feet over making changes to apartment building governance laws which currently allow ruthless management companies such as Centurion to make life a misery for people who buy apartments. Look up who controls Centurion if you don’t already know.

Intensification has to have a…

Neil

Fri, 07 Dec 2018 23:35:55 +1300

Twyford chooses to discuss his lowering the penalty for making a profit out of KiwiBuild with king of boondoggles Shane Jones rather than with the PM.

The PM doesn’t appear impressed.

All in the context of quite a few people trying to tell Twyford the building industry is dysfunctional and…

Sacha

Thu, 06 Dec 2018 11:11:48 +1300

That is the angle of a single media story with plenty of reckons but little evidence.

Neil

Wed, 05 Dec 2018 23:23:15 +1300

Well I’ve just seen this. Twyford wanted to lessen the penalty for flipping Kiwibuild homes on for a profit.

Didn’t discuss it with the PM but did discus it with – Shane Jones.

Industry influence, pretty obvious.

Neil

Wed, 05 Dec 2018 22:49:33 +1300

The directors of theses failed building companies quickly go on to work for other building companies.

Constructing houses in NZ is horrendously more expensive than in other countries. And yet these companies go bust.

Where do the profits from these exorbitant costs go and why aren’t people being held accountable…

Neil

Tue, 04 Dec 2018 20:38:00 +1300

Construction sector 'house of cards': Corbel Construction failure tip of iceberg

This is the biggest threat to Labour’s housing policy. The building industry is seriously dysfunctional and sadly corrupt.

Twyford thinks the building industry is his friend, he should quickly come to terms with the fact it is not.

He also…

Ross Mason

Wed, 14 Nov 2018 16:05:23 +1300

Early buyers might own these for 5 or 10 years, but these houses will provide access into the market for 50 or 100 years.

I can't help thinking this is the cruncher. "Access to the market" is one description. "Onto the property ladder" is another. The ladder seems to be…

Ian Dalziel

Wed, 14 Nov 2018 09:57:08 +1300

One does hope that under KiwiBuild that the Government ensures all compliance is met at every step of the way – The developers get the assurance of guaranteed sales while the public can be assured there will be no shonky corners cut.

Having said that I did get to visit…

Neil

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 22:26:30 +1300

I think one issue Twyford isn’t willing to confront is that the building industry is not his friend.

One reason the cost of building is so high is that the industry is at best dysfunctional and at worst corrupt.

Handing out government money to take away risk for developers is…

Lindsey Rea

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 22:01:30 +1300

Yes, we definately need encouragement to build smaller and more affordable homes. The market in Auckland has not done that – I had 8 years processing Land Use consents for Auckland Council and there were lots of houses being consented, but the majority of them in the North Shore area…

Cornford

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 17:51:59 +1300

Thanks for a really informative piece. Where I do think the Government deserves criticism is around the politics.
They’ve done a poor job at shaping the narrative. If as you say the plan has morphed somewhat since Shearer’s time, I bet most of the public wouldn’t know it. Whilst some…

Shaun Scott

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 17:50:40 +1300

Really helpful and well thought through piece- perfect for public address :-) I had thought of the overall downward pressure on prices more houses should create, but had not quire thought it through in the way you have addressed the "affordable house" issue. Good info on state house building as…

Jason Kemp

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 14:53:37 +1300

Thanks for this. I found another recent story about the Ockham developer quite illuminating on how this all really works because the connections between land / building costs and markets is not that obvious to most of us.

Why freeing up more land won't solve Auckland's housing crisis

In…

WH

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 13:36:40 +1300

Thanks for this. It’s good to see an explanation of how KiwiBuild is intended to make all housing more affordable. The discussion of state housing and KiwiBuild is helpful too.

Sacha

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 10:38:58 +1300

KiwiBuild gives the government the ability to use smaller and more compact houses to drive these larger urban moves that will make our cities more walkable, more affordable, more environmentally robust. If you disagree with these things, or the efficacy of this approach, then great, let's debate that ...

Government…

Public Address

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 10:38:57 +1300

Discussion from blog post.