In 2016, Auckland, New Zealand did something nearly unprecedented in the English-speaking world: It upzoned the majority of land in the city, and not just for three or four units per parcel. They went much further than that, and by one estimate increased the legal capacity for housing in the city by 300%. The goal of the reform, known as the Auckland Unitary Plan, was to increase production of multifamily housing and slow or stop rapidly rising housing prices. Did they succeed? Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy has published several studies on the results approximately five years later, and the news is quite good. We talk through the details of what Auckland did and the impact it had, and the lessons it holds for other cities considering (or hoping for) similar reforms. Taking Auckland’s lead, New Zealand adopted even more aggressive housing reforms in 2021, and we discuss that too.

Show notes:

• Greenaway-McGrevy, R., Pacheco, G., & Sorensen, K. (2021). The effect of upzoning on house prices and redevelopment premiums in Auckland, New Zealand. Urban studies, 58(5), 959-976.
• Greenaway-McGrevy, R., & Phillips, P. C. (2022). The Impact of Upzoning on Housing Construction in Auckland. Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers, 2689.
• Map of post-upzoning residential zones in Auckland.
• Charts showing housing permit activity before and after upzoning in upzoned and non-upzoned areas: Figure 3 and Figure 5.
• Garcia, D., & Alameldin, M. (2023). California’s HOME Act Turns One: Data and Insights from the First Year of Senate Bill 9. UC Berkeley Terner Center for Housing Innovation.
• UCLA Housing Voice episode with Evan Mast on supply affects and demand/amenity affects associated with new construction.
• Phillips, S., Manville, M., & Lens, M. (2021). Research Roundup: The effect of market-rate development on neighborhood rents. UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies.
• Greenaway-McGrevy, R. (Jul 7 2016). Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy: Density the only win-win situation for Auckland. New Zealand Herald.
• UCLA Housing Voice episode with Dan Kuhlmann on impact on house and land prices when Minneapolis eliminated single-family zoning citywide.
• UCLA Housing Voice episode with Evan Mast on market-rate development and neighborhood rents.