David Whitburn: property developer and investor warns recent housing changes come with an infrastructure bill

A property expert says housing changes announced today will increase supply - with a massive infrastructure bill attached.

Housing Minister Chris Bishop says they'll let cities expand by stopping councils setting fixed rural-urban boundaries and requiring them to plan for growth 30 years ahead.

Apartment floor area minimums and balcony requirements are being abolished.

Property developer and investor, David Whitburn, says it won't be the holy grail many are looking for.

"It is very expensive to put in the wastewater networks, the roading, the connections to electricity - and so forth."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Afternoon, Chris Bishop has revealed his plan to flood the
market with houses. The new rules he's outlying today would
abolish urban rural boundaries around cities, demand that council's free
up thirty years' worth of development land demand intensification, especially
along transport corridors, and remove restrictions on apartment sizes and
balcony sizes. That would mean the market would make the
rules and not the council. David Whitburn is a professional

(00:23):
property developer and investor in with us.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Now, Hey David, hey, yeah, how are you very well?

Speaker 1 (00:27):
Thank you? Do you reckon? This is going to see
more houses built and prices kept down.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
It will, but unfortunately it's not the Holy Girl that
many are looking for. This will be a little bit
of a trickle only because we need to couple with
infrastructure funding considering urban sprawl when getting rid of the
metropolitan urban limits to Auckland and christ Church have already
factored in thirty years of supply in their plans anyway,

(00:54):
so that really only adding in the Hamilton, Toldong and
Wellington councils is the tier one councils for this, and
until we get the infrastructure funding sort of out. We're
not going to be able to get too much of
a dent in this, unfortunately, because it is very expensive
to put in the wastewater networks, the roading, the connections
to electricity, reticulation and so forth. To get a full

(01:17):
benefit from that.

Speaker 1 (01:19):
You don't think the developers will pay for it willingly.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Developers won't pay for willing because we've got to make
a profit. That actually be more useful if we could
consider addressing the high interest rates that are hurting us
so bad at the moment. They're just too high, but
the infrastructure costs will help it. Just where's the funding
the platform from them. There have been some successful models,
the likes of what Fuld and Hopan have done in
Mildale has been great with a targeted contribution to the rates.

(01:46):
I think it's over thirty years to alleviate some of
the pressure, but it's very expensive doing it. We're seeing
development contributions upwards of ninety thousand dollars in Drury that
just gets taged to the cost of houses. So as
a result, we see places like Kumiu and Herpi in
northwest of Auckland, in Karaka and Pocono, we're seeing in

(02:08):
addition to some quite empty commute times, we're also seeing
that these areas using the old speak the sort of
disl nine ten nicer, more costly areas. So it doesn't
really help the housing affordability and only make a minor
dent and things. It's the right principle in all and
the better and lower housing, but unfortunately, unless it's dovetailed

(02:28):
around infrastructs lying and the provision of more bulk infrastructure
ideally funded by government who can borrow a couple of
least two hundred basis points lower than we developers can,
it's going to still be a real challenge.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
How do you feel about the possibility of shoe box apartments?

Speaker 2 (02:45):
Not good? We foiled a lot in the in the dieting.
Noticed a bit of work with some lawyers today and
an expert witness brief on one that such infamous project there.
It's something we've got to be bit conscious of. Unfortunately,
we've got to take some of our most vulnerable people
along with us on the journey, and some people don't

(03:06):
have that choice. So potentially, yet, if we were developed
that peraps weren't quite so conscious there, I may be
able to build nine square meter units and peraps have
a shared bathroom.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
Would anybody live them?

Speaker 2 (03:19):
Really? Unfortunately they haven't. In student halls of residents have
examples of that. Some workers accommodation do it in cities
like Hong Kong and numerous European cities. I've seen ones
as small as nine square meters. Unfortunately, so some vulnerable people. Unfortunately,

(03:39):
do you have to live in that? Yes, it's better
than living in the car or a living rough, but
it's not very nice. I'm not so sure about having
a removal of balconies, particularly when we can have no
opening windows. In addition to these full size it probably
it could be a better way to have some some
minimum stands there, just to make sure that our country's
most vulnerable aren't leaves behind.

Speaker 1 (04:00):
David, it's really good to get your perspective on it.
Thank you very much. David Whitburn, professional property developer and investor.

Speaker 2 (04:06):
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