Housing Minister Nick Smith stopped in Welcome Bay today to visit one of six new homes being built in Tauranga as part of a new Housing New Zealand Corporation [HNZC] development.

The houses are being developed by HNZC with the aim of creating affordable, sustainable housing for people in the Tauranga area.

One six new homes being built in Tauranga.

Housing Minister Nick Smith visited Tauranga today.

'These six new homes being developed in Tauranga will help meet local demand. The new homes are fully insulated, have double glazing and are well-positioned to soak up the Bay of Plenty sun,” says Nick.

'They are also designed to meet the demands of larger families and smaller families being four- and two- bedroomed, because this is where the shortage of social housing in Tauranga lies.”

Tauranga is one of the regions in New Zealand which is most difficult to live in with respect to high housing prices and low incomes.

Nick says the challenge of getting affordable housing in Tauranga is not going to be overcome by government alone, and it will be a group effort to secure affordable housing in the region.

'The solution to the housing affordability challenge in Tauranga requires Government, councils, iwi, community housing organisations and the development sector to all play their role.

'The Government's reforms are about expanding the community housing sector, improving HNZC's housing stock, freeing up land supply, containing building material costs and getting compliance costs down.”

The new homes opened in Tauranga today are a part of the HNZC's nationwide $3 billion programme to improve its housing quality and provide the best service to their tenants needs.

In addition to the six Welcome Bay Properties, HNZC has purchased another 12 properties in the Tauranga region over the past year, with one five-bedroom, two four-bedroom and nine two-bedroom houses.

The five-bedroom property and one of the two-bedroom properties have been relocated from Springhill Prison to vacant sites, as a part the combined initiative of HNZC and the department of Corrections.

'This initiative sees surplus state homes refurbished and reconfigured by prisoners, and once completed they're relocated to areas of high demand. It's a win-win situation, giving prisoners new skills and training opportunities, and providing more warm, dry homes for people in need,” says Nick.

In addition to the opening in Welcome Bay, there was also a visit to 14 houses being developed on Clarke Street by the Tauranga Community Housing Trust (TCHT). Previously owned by Tauranga city council, it was sold with the intention to help address the housing situation in Tauranga.

With good access to transportation and amenities such as the hospital, the Clarke street project is aimed at providing good accessible housing for people in a usually greatly disadvantaged group.

Over three million dollars in funding for the Clarke Street Project has been raised by TCHT with coming from the Governments Social Housing Unit, Tauranga Energy Consumer Trust, Tauranga Energy Trust and Policy Charity Auction.

The project completion date is set for late October this year.