Price effects of the special housing areas in Auckland

Fernández, Mario Andrés; Sánchez, Gonzalo E.; Bucaram, Santiago

doi:10.1080/00779954.2019.1588916

Cited by 11 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Research on the hedonic prices of environmental amenities and other housing attributes in Auckland is extensive (Fernandez, 2019a; Rehm, 2009). We do not elaborate on that set of findings but prefer to focus on the points of interest in this article: the coefficients for the yearly size of the SCA and upzoning premiums, shown in Figures 5 and 6.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What’s so special about character?

Fernández

Martin

2020

Urban Studies

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Special Character Areas (SCAs) in Auckland, New Zealand, are areas with distinctive aesthetic, physical and visual qualities. Preservation policies entail controls on the design and appearance of new buildings, and on demolition, additions and alterations to existing buildings. To promote densification of the city, the Auckland Unitary Plan (AUP) removed SCA preservation rules in certain areas. This article assesses the trade-off between SCA preservation and housing development. We employ hedonic prices models to about 85,000 sale transactions between 2012 and 2016 and find that in 2012, the SCA price premium was 11.4% whereas the premium on upzoned properties (those with increased development allowances under the AUP) was zero. Over time, the SCA premium decreases, and by 2016 it was down to about 4.3%. At the same time, upzoning premiums increased to about 5% in 2016. These results reveal a demand shift from the protections of SCA towards flexibility on the development options of land.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During this period, the structure of the Auckland region’s government was significantly altered. As a result, there was a massive change in land use policy which was designed, in part, to help accommodate the surging population (Fernandez et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What’s so special about character?

Fernández

Martin

2020

Urban Studies

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“…The special issue also contains some useful lessons for policymakers looking to restore housing affordability. Fernandez, Sánchez, and Bucaram (2020) show that inclusionary housing incentives introduced under 'Special Housing Areas' have failed to deliver cheaper housing in Auckland due to lax monitoring and enforcement of development obligations.…”

Section: Overview Of the Special Issuementioning

confidence: 99%

House prices and affordability

Greenaway‐McGrevy

Phillips

2021

New Zealand Economic Papers

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“…Auckland house prices increased, on an average, by 45 per cent between 2014 and 2017 (CoreLogic, 2018) making the region one of the most unaffordable housing markets in the world by some measures, with a median housing price nine times larger than the median household income (Cox and Pavletich, 2018; Fernandez, 2019a). To counteract unaffordability in the city, IZ was recommended during the development of the Auckland Unitary Plan (AUP) in 2013, and a form of voluntary IZ was implemented through the Special Housing Areas (SHAs) programme in 2016 – which was largely ineffective (Fernandez et al , 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The model measures the extent to which potential buyers can purchase a house, conditional to the distribution of prices in the scenarios. The model in this paper is an expansion to the programming model in Fernandez et al (2019). First, two baselines are defined: a competitive market scenario with a distribution of prices with a median of $1.1m; and, an affordable market scenario where the distribution of prices has a median equal to $940,000.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Staged implementation of inclusionary zoning as a mechanism to improve housing affordability in Auckland, New Zealand

Fernández

Martin

2020

IJHMA

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse how the staged implementation of inclusionary zoning (IZ) performs relative to conventional IZ programmes in terms of increasing the number of low- and moderate-income households become homeowners. Design/methodology/approach The paper applies a matching model implemented through a mixed-integer programme model taking Auckland (New Zealand) housing market as a case study. The IZ is simulated by two features: a target price (below which affordable houses are defined) and the income threshold (below which any household gains access to the programme). The staging of IZ consists of first directing affordable houses to low-income households, where those houses that are not sold are cascaded to subsequent population groups with higher incomes. Findings The staged implementation of IZ does not necessarily imply that the number of sales will increase both for affordable and market-rate houses. However, a hybrid approach defined by two target prices results in a greater number of sales relative to a conventional IZ and a baseline affordable market while achieving market efficiency and equity. Research limitations/implications The paper is limited to the marginal impact of new affordable houses entering the market. It does not address further market rounds for houses left empty for tractability purposes. Also, the analysis is circumscribed to current renters and not owners, if owners were included they would outbid renters and distort the intended impact of IZ as an affordable housing policy. Originality/value The paper has relevance for policymakers because it provides evidence about the dimensions of IZ to have a lasting effect on housing affordability. The model is applied to a single housing market but is suitable to be generalized and adapted to a different urban environment.

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Price effects of the special housing areas in Auckland

Cited by 11 publications

References 17 publications

What’s so special about character?

What’s so special about character?

House prices and affordability

Staged implementation of inclusionary zoning as a mechanism to improve housing affordability in Auckland, New Zealand

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