Christchurch City Council rules out rates discount for inner-city new home buyers
A rates discount for new home buyers in central Christchurch is off the table after being rejected as an incentive to lift inner-city population.
The Christchurch City Council has also ditched the idea of providing a shared-equity scheme for the central city over concerns it will be duplicated by similar programmes run by the Government.
The decisions come after a new long-awaited report into the supply and demand of central city homes found the council has little influence over construction and land costs, which have the biggest impact on the cost of housing. The report was due in July last year.
The council wants 20,000 people living within the four avenues by 2028. The latest estimates from Stats NZ has the population at 7170, up 8.3 per cent on the previous year.
About 230 homes have already been completed in the central city this year, another 41 are being built and 127 are consented but work has yet to start. By the end of the year, more homes will have been built in 2020 than in any other year for the past decade.
But the council still faces an uphill battle to reach its population target, with another 4500 homes needed over the next eight years.
The report found inner-city residential developers are hampered by land supply and quality issues, uncertain demand, strong competition from the suburbs and finance conditions.
“Buyers are value conscious and the central city does not currently offer value compared to the same-priced alternatives,” the report said.
Potential buyers believed they could get better value for money in the fringe suburbs close to the four avenues.
Poll: Are Kiwis allergic to “exuberance”? 🥝
In The Post’s opinion piece on the developments set to open across Aotearoa in 2026, John Coop suggests that, as a nation, we’re “allergic to exuberance.”
We want to know: Are we really allergic to showing our excitement?
Is it time to lean into a more optimistic view of the place we call home? As big projects take shape and new opportunities emerge, perhaps it’s worth asking whether a little more confidence (and enthusiasm!) could do us some good.
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41.3% Yes
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33.9% Maybe?
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24.8% No
Neighbourhood Challenge: Who Can Crack This One? ⛓️💥❔
What has a head but no brain?
Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post if you know the answer and the big reveal will be posted in the comments at 2pm on the day!
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2025 has been massive. The Luxon-led Government's attacks on workers, on Te Tiriti, on pay equity, on educators, on health workers, and on the public service, have been relentless.
But despite everything thrown at working people, we've also seen some massive wins. We've fought back together with strike action. We've unified with days of action. We have focused on what matters. Make no mistake, 2026 will be wild, and we are ready for it! Source - New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
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