UPDATED 6.20pm: Up to 1800 new homes are to be built in south Auckland.

Two new Special Housing Areas have been announced by Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith and Mayor Len Brown this afternoon.

One area is in Glenbrook and the other in Drury.

Dr Smith said this announcement now brings the total number of Special Housing Areas in Auckland to 86. He believes this is welcome progress and that it will address "Auckland’s issues of housing supply and affordability."

He said at least 10 percent of the homes have to be affordable, classed as $550 thousand or less. 

He believes there are no restrictions on who can buy them as it needs to stay as a commercial arrangement. However, Dr Smith said he's confident a good portion of them will go to first home buyers.

 

The Glenbrook site is 87 hectares at McLarin Road and can cater for 800 homes.

In Drury, there's 68 hectares on Bremmer Road where 1000 can be built.

 Len Brown said both of the new sites are already closely located to amenities such as local halls, reserves and education centres. He believes this will mean that these sites can be well-serviced by existing or planned water, waste and roading infrastructure.

“We remain committed to supporting this momentum and will continue with our programme to grow the supply of housing.”