If the number of new homes being built doesn’t increase New Zealand could be facing a housing shortage, according to the latest independent research from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER).

With immigration on the rise, population growth of 47,000 in the year to June 2009 and the population predicted by Statistics New Zealand to hit five million in ten years, will there be enough houses available?

Demand for residential properties will exceed supply by 2013 with a 17,500 dwelling shortfall according to current predictions.

House and section prices have lowered and are stabilising but fixed mortgage interest rates have just started to rise and deposit requirements remain high.

However, rents are set to rise. Tenant demand for good-quality residential is predicted to skyrocket as the housing shortage hits.

NZ Property Investors Federation president Martin Evans says now is definitely the time to buy.

New Zealand is a very young country by world standards, and like most adolescents is conflicted.

Developers are convinced New Zealand needs to intensify development within  existing cities to get the national economy moving but passionate heritage and community groups are often anti-intensificaiton and vocal about their desire to keep suburbs unaffected.

Horror stories of promising property developments falling over have been hitting news headlines, along with gloomy figures that show construction of new homes and sales of existing homes have dropped. Meanwhile, the population is at 4.3 million and rising.

While National’s promised changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) should improve consent processes and costs, delays have been driving developers up the wall and holding up subdivisions in recent years.