Auckland Council Study Busts Its Own Spin

“A new study by the Auckland Council shows Aucklanders don’t want what the council claims they look for in housing,” Affordable Auckland leader Stephen Berry says. The mayoral candidate is referring to a new report, The Housing We'd Choose, A Study of Housing Preferences, Choices and Trade-Offs, out today from Auckland Council's research and evaluation unit.

The study was based on two surveys that asked Auckland residents what features they looked for in a house, and what features they would prioritise given budget constraints. It showed that contrary to the council’s claims that Aucklanders’ housing preferences have shifted towards higher-density living, the vast majority of people in the city prefer standalone houses with nice backyards.

“The study found a safe neighbourhood is the most important factor, followed by having a standalone house, freehold title and facing north,” Berry says. “Overall, respondents prioritised factors relating to the local environment, followed by property and dwelling features such as a big house, a backyard and a garden. ‘Convenience and access’ and ‘proximity to facilities’ were at the bottom of the list.

“This shows Aucklanders aren’t as keen on ‘dense walkable neighbourhoods’ as the council would have you believe. For instance, only 11% thought being able to cycle or walk to work was very important.” The study also found that Aucklanders were generally willing to live farther out from their preferred location in order to live in a larger house, and that modest price increases made a relatively small difference to people’s preferred housing type.

“Since day one the Auckland Council has claimed that Aucklanders are just itching to give up their big suburban houses to live in apartments and terraced houses in the central city where they can walk or cycle to work,” Berry says. “This survey completely debunks these claims. The council needs to stop strangling development with red tape and added costs, so that all housing types can become more affordable.”

While the survey came up with some interesting results, Berry says Aucklanders’ real-life decisions are the litmus test. “The only survey that really matters is the housing that people actually choose. Affordable Auckland supports allowing more development on the city’s edge, and greater density in high-demand areas, to enable greater choice. “With Auckland’s median house price now around $800,000, the only choice for many Aucklanders is where to move to when they leave.”

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