Registrations of interest for the KiwiBuild programme show huge demand for affordable housing in Auckland.

As at July 17, KiwiBuild had received 35,496 registrations - of which 22,891 were made in the Auckland region.

The second highest level of interest was in Wellington, which had 7176 applications.

This was followed by Tauranga (4344), Hamilton (4335) and Christchurch (3176).

The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) said these figures should not be taken as a distribution list of where KiwiBuild homes will be built nor the number that will be built in each area.

The number of applications shows that demand has already far outstripped the number of houses planned for the coming years.

Demand for affordable homes has been strongest in Auckland. Photo/123RF.

Earlier this month, Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said 1000 KiwiBuild homes would be built in 2018/19, 5000 in 2019/20, 10,000 in 2020/21 and 12,000 a year average through to 2028.

Given the enormous interest in the programme, the Government will use a ballot to ensure fair distribution of the affordable housing as it is built.

Applications for KiwiBuild homes started flooding in shortly after the programme launched, reaching over 6000 within the first day.