Taylor Scott International News
Five years after earthquakes devastate the New Zealand city of Christchurch it has been announced that housing is now on track for a full recovery. Housing has been one of the most complex and challenging problems in the aftermath of the disasters that struck in 2010, according to housing officials and ministers but they added that the Government’s wide ranging support as ensured the city’s housing market is nearing recovery five years. ‘The Government has taken a step by step approach and officials project that by June 2017, the Christchurch housing market will be fully recovered with supply and demand back in balance,’ said Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith. The Government’s housing initiatives in Christchurch since the earthquakes include the Establishment of the Canterbury Earthquake Temporary Accommodation Service (CETAS), which has helped nearly 6500 households find temporary accommodation. Temporary accommodation financial assistance of over $55 million was provided to over 3,200 households and the Residential Advisory Service has helped over 3,288 residential property owners progress their repair, rebuild, and resettlement process. Over 1,000 were put in temporary accommodation, some 27,000 emergency repairs carried out on Housing New Zealand homes, and some $31 million in grants provided for social and affordable housing in Canterbury. ‘As some of the most vulnerable residents, social housing tenants were particularly hard hit by the earthquakes. Housing New Zealand’s effort fixing its houses was staggering, spending $350 million repairing over 5,100 properties,’ said Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett. Smith said that the strongest evidence of the successful recovery of Christchurch’s housing market is the latest data on rents and house prices. House prices rose by up to 13% per year following the earthquakes but grew last year by 2.7% and are now back below the national average. Rents were growing at up to 16% per year following the earthquakes but have been declining since October 2014 and in the past year, have dropped by 6%. ‘Housing was one of the biggest post-quake challenges facing Christchurch, but a concerted effort by the community, building sector, council and Government has enabled us to recover as quickly as practically possible,’ he explained. ‘With the completion of projects in the pipeline, Christchurch will have, by 2017, the safest and warmest stock of private, state and community housing in the country,’ he added. Taylor Scott International
Taylor Scott International, Taylor Scott
