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QUEENSTOWN HOUSING TRUST COMMISSIONS INDEPENDENT RESEARCH

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March, 2012

Queenstowns Community Housing Trust is to commission independent research into the local rental market to look at the challenges for people trying to get into home ownership in Queenstown.

The affordability of renting and buying property in Queenstown is the concern of the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust (QLCHT).

Its role is not only to provide affordable housing for local people but also to demonstrate the need for a variety of affordable housing options. Following in-depth research in 2009, QLCHT introduced its Rent Saver programme which enables people to combine high quality, secure tenure rental with a savings incentive to assist them into home ownership.

Executive officer Julie Scott said the Trust receives on-going high demand for housing assistance.
We have had over five hundred households register their interest with the Trust since our inception four years ago. We want to know how many more are out there and what housing hurdles they face in Queenstown. Once we have this data we will be better placed to help them.

The Trust is now commissioning further research into the rental market in Queenstown. Katherine Davies, an independent researcher, has designed the short online survey, which will provide invaluable data on peoples intentions to rent and buy in the area. It will help the Trust and other accommodation providers to better understand current and future needs.

Trust chairman David Cole said the survey would update the Trusts understanding of issues facing workers wanting to put down roots in Queenstown.

We want to make sure that the programmes being offered by the Trust are targeting the correct needs in the market.

It is hoped that the survey will receive information from the majority of renters in Queenstown. With this in mind the Trust is offering one of five chances to win a $150 New World shopping voucher for everyone who completes the survey. The survey will run for three weeks from the 2nd to the 22nd April, with winners being selected at random shortly after the closing date.

Meanwhile, the 50th Lakes District household has now been helped into home ownership with the trust under its Shared Ownership Programme, set up in 2008.