PHOTO: SUPPLIED Co-operation between local and central government can happen, such as the Milldale subdivision north of Auckland, being built in partnership with a private developer.
House prices are high because councils are not sufficiently funded enough to release the land needed for extra housing, an infrastructure group claims.
The latest housing affordability report by thinktank Demographia shows that New Zealand scored internationally high on the unaffordable housing front.
Tauranga now the fifth most expensive housing market among more than 300 cities in eight countries, and Auckland close behind.
With housing nationally costing 7 times the median household income, Demographia co-author Hugh Pavletich said cities needed to release more land, so the housing supply increased and prices stopped rising.
READ MORE VIA STUFF