Resi25: Bishop unveils $100m financing scheme for developers

28th March 2025 By Paul Yandall | paul@propertyticker.co.nz | @propertyticker

The government is making $100m in lending available for developers for housing infrastructure under a new financing plan to encourage building.

Housing and Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop said the money will be loaned out at a competitive interest rate via a new investment vehicle, with the money coming from the government’s National Infrastructure Funding and Financing Agency (NIFFCo).

NIFFCo is the new national infrastructure agency, created out of Crown Infrastructure Partners, with the funding plan named the Greenfield Model.

“The model is being funded using existing unallocated funding within NIFFCo,” Bishop told the Property Council New Zealand’s Residential Development Summit at Auckland’s Aotea Centre on Thursday.

“NIFFCo will lend to an Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act special purpose vehicle at a very competitive interest rate during the development phase of a project.

“The debt will be refinanced to private markets once the development is complete, with the funding ultimately being repaid by future home owners through an annual levy.”

Because the development phase of a project is often the riskiest and most expensive to finance, NIFFCo’s loan would provide lower cost of financing to developers over the development period by charging approximately what private financiers would charge for completed developments. 

“This is a big win for growth,” Bishop said.

“It will also enable NIFFCo also to be able to recycle the capital into new projects after the five- to seven-year development period.”

He added that the plan would bridge the financing gap and help ensure that new homes continued to be built in areas where they were needed most.

The government said the Infrastructure Funding and Finance Act enabled special purpose vehicles to finance projects by charging a levy to those who benefited from the infrastructure. NIFFCo provides equity and debt, raises necessary external debt finance, operates special purpose vehicles, and repays finance through levies collected through councils.