Property poll: Should we be building more apartments, even if locals object?

Wednesday, 10 June 2026

Wayne Brown tells media the specific housing numbers “don’t matter” and that the council’s announcement is intended to calm elderly residents concerned about intensification. He says areas like Epsom are already changing through aged-care development

Auckland's housing intensification plans have been scaled back, reigniting debate over apartment living.

Supporters say more apartments are needed to tackle housing shortages, while opponents worry about the impact on established neighbourhoods.

As apartment living becomes more common, New Zealanders are weighing up its benefits and drawbacks.

Have your say in out weekly poll, below.

Analysis: After February’s announc ement of a backdown on Auckland housing intensification legislation by Resource Management Minister Chris Bishop, some questions remain.

Fans of intensification say the move may make it harder to address housing shortages in the nation's largest city. Opponents say it protects established neighbourhoods from over-development.

The debate raises a simple question: should we be building more apartments, even when locals object?

New Zealand has never had much of an apartment culture. We've always had flats, but the kind of high-rise buildings that are common overseas are a relatively new development.

When I was growing up, admittedly a long time ago, the only apartment buildings I knew were the weird and wonderful Park Mews in Hataitai, which is at least two parts art piece to one part residential building, and the often rugged state housing blocks like those at the end of Jackson St in Petone.

That started to change in the 1990s, when developers began rescuing old commercial buildings, like the old Dominion Newspaper offices, and Queens Wharf and Aotea Quay office buildings in Wellington.

Today, high-rise developments are more common, particularly in Auckland, but we still don't really like it.

Auckland is left wondering about the future of housing intensification plans after another potential u-turn in rules from central government.

As Mayor Wayne Brown joked in February, Bishop's decision would probably calm some worried residents in suburbs such as Epsom if nothing else. Ten points to Nimby House.

But residents in established suburbs facing intensification argue that taller developments can impact their quality of life, reducing sunlight and privacy, and increasing congestion.

Paddy Bartlett, front, and his son, live in an apartment in Britomart. It makes financial sense.

They argue it could fundamentally change neighbourhood character and put pressure on infrastructure unsuited to ever-increasing numbers of residents.

Glenda Hurst moves into new Build to rent apartment after selling her family home

The catch, of course, is that we need more housing, desperately, and it needs to be in the places people want to live. Apartments are one of the most cost-efficient and space-efficient ways to do this, and new apartments have to go somewhere.

Many city planners argue intensification is necessary to accommodate growing populations and improve housing affordability. And there is some evidence that this pragmatic attitude towards high-rise life is growing in popularity.

A few weeks ago we shared the story of one young couple who chose apartment living over the quarter-acre dream because they saw it as a pathway to financial freedom.

Now mortgage-free, the couple reckon it would have taken decades to get out from under the mortgage on a standalone house.

Ockham Residential Toi apartment - Carrington redevelopment in Auckland

'But you can actually do this here,' the owner told Stuff, 'and then you have more resources and time to spend with your family.'

Having more resources spurred one 73-year-old retiree to sell her family home and rent.

'I still want to do things,' she told Stuff. 'If I bought another property, I wouldn't be able to travel because I wouldn't have the money to do it. I want to be able to enjoy what I've got, while I can.'

Another inner-city apartment dweller celebrated her converted office apartment because it gave her a commute of less than 10 seconds.

Some folks love apartment life so much, they never want to live in a house again.

In Wellington, the council is running a programme called Te Kāinga where it works with private owners to turn underused commercial buildings into high-quality, long-term rentals. The programme uses space that would otherwise sit empty, while providing owners with income and creating long-term housing for city dwellers.

Some apartment developers, such as Ockham Residential, have bet on this change in attitude towards lifelong renting and apartment-style living with builds such as The Nix in Grey Lynn and The Greenhouse in Ponsonby.

There are pluses and minuses to apartment living, of course, and not all apartments are the same. No one should buy one without knowing everything they need to know about the lifestyle, and the hidden costs of apartment living.

There are the ongoing, and often increasing, costs of the body corporate, as well as potentially strict rules about what you can and can't do in the building. And you often don't have much say about who's living next door.

So should we be building more apartments, even if the neighbours aren't keen? Let us know what you think in our poll above, and if you've had experience living in an apartment building, we'd love to hear about it in the comments.