What to do about the housing crisis in a city growing by about 900 people a week?
Auckland mayor Phil Goff's housing taskforce meets for the first time today, the first step in his plan to respond to fast-paced growth out-stripping housing supply.
"Auckland faces severe housing difficulties as the supply of housing fails to keep pace with demand,"Goff said.
"The number of extra houses the city needs each year is estimated at around 13,000 and we have been building only around half that number. The accumulated shortfall in homes grows each year. This has resulted in the cost of buying a house becoming unaffordable for a growing numbers of Aucklanders, rent rises putting low income households under real pressure and growing homelessness.
"The role of the taskforce is to bring the diverse expertise of the people in it to bear on analysing and finding solutions to the problem. To the extent possible, we will try to find common ground on these things and make recommendations aimed at resolving the problems.
