Zizi Sparks: Housing crisis shows now is the time for high density living

In Singapore, living is so dense residents hang washing out of windows to dry. Photo / File

OPINION

Bay of Plenty house prices have reached a record high for the second month in a row and it's time we did something about it.

Nationwide, the percentage of homes selling for less than $500,000 is dropping as prices increase and ownership becomes more out of reach for many.

We need to do something about it to give the next generation any chance of owning property.

NZME recently revealed prices were more than 18 times the median income in Rotorua and 10 times that in Tauranga.

There will be some still chasing the Kiwi quarter-acre dream - space for a dog, cat, maybe kids. But that dream needs to change.

Hundreds of cities in countries around the world have embraced apartment living. In Singapore, it's so dense they need to hang their washing out of the windows to dry.

We may not need to build that densely now but we do need to intensify.

That's why it's time to embrace Tauranga City Council's $536.3 million Te Papa peninsula growth plan - approved for public consultation this week.

The plan is a 30-year blueprint for an area expected to grow by 15,000 people in the next 30 years. It would allow for mid-rise apartment buildings of four or six storeys in some areas.

But there are also mandates to ensure they are nice to live in.

In Rotorua, the council has adopted a housing strategy to stimulate and enable residential development.

The He papakāinga, he hāpori taurikura - te poupou rautaki: homes and thriving communities strategic framework estimates the district has a housing shortfall of up to 1750.

Among the things the strategy hopes to deliver are land and infrastructure for about 2000 homes and the building of 250 to 500 new homes each year.

With rising house prices and populations, a plan for the future is more important than ever but it's time to look exactly at what those plans are.

No one wants a dense housing development right next door, many don't want high-rise housing. But at this rate, that's exactly what we need.

There is no time for nimbys. We are growing whether we like it or not and it's time to act like it.