Extra loans key to achieving 1 million home upgrade
The key to hundreds of thousands of home owners taking up $1800 Government grants to insulate and efficiently heat homes
will be the extra new loans to help cover the whole cost of the work.
The New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development says today's Budget announcement of a four-year target to
improve the performance of 180,000 privately owned homes built before 2000 is a significant new policy.
It recognises the scale of the problem.
About 1 million of the country's 1.6 million homes are inadequately insulated. Cold, dampness and mould are making the
occupants of 433,000 homes sick, according to the findings of a $300,000 two-year Business Council research project to
find answers to the problem.
The housing project research manager, Heather Stonyer, says 59% of owners who say their houses could be warmer and more
energy efficient can't afford to fix the problem.
However, 670,000 of them would accept the right package of home performance improvement grants and loans from councils,
power companies and banks in the next 10 years. 210,000 would accept a package like this and act in the next two years.
Most also want a performance rating on homes - so when they come to sell or rent a property others can tell it has been
upgraded. This can add 5 to 10% to a property's value, according to overseas experience. They also rent faster and for
more.
"So the new sources of finance to add to the grants are critical. It's great news that the Government is developing
these. We're also working with 30 other organisations to solve the problem, develop the rating system and encourage new
finance products," Heather Stonyer says. "Home improvement brings big rewards in jobs, health, energy savings and
productivity."
The Government's new policy move is significant because it recognises the scale of the problem New Zealand faces, the
huge benefits to be gained by acting on a large scale, and allocates $323.3 million to the scheme over the next four
years.
The Business Council's report on how to improve the New Zealand home performance is at
http://www.nzbcsd.org.nz/housing/content.asp?id=446
The latest nationwide research on funding options New Zealanders will use is here:
http://www.nzbcsd.org.nz/story.asp?StoryID=991
Further polling on the new scheme and options is being launched this evening.
ENDS