14 Feb 2013

Housing NZ defends sale of state houses

10:51 am on 14 February 2013

Housing New Zealand has been forced to defend the sale of state houses, which is at its highest rate in five years.

Last year the corporation sold 217 state houses, up from 101 in 2008.

It also acquired nearly 500 fewer new properties, down from 706 two years earlier.

Housing New Zealand chair Alan Jackson told Parliament's social services committee during its annual financial review the houses that have been sold are in regions where there is low demand for state houses.

He said new homes in regions where there is high demand have been hard to source.

Dr Jackson told MPs the corporation now adds to the state housing stock only by building new homes, as it doesn't want to compete on the open housing market.