Housing has been deemed unaffordable so often that it is now considered a fact. The key evidence has been the ratio of house prices to incomes which currently stands at 5.4, with 3 being the proposed ideal level. 07-02-2013 more >>
The New Zealand Property Investors Federation has developed a calculator to show that anyone with an income can afford to buy a property. 07-02-2013 more >>
House prices will rise faster this year than they did in 2012, BNZ’s chief economist says. Tony Alexander says a lack of supply and a turnaround in migration will push up prices. 07-02-2013 more >>
Barfoot and Thompson has reported its most active January in five years. The agency said its average price in Auckland in January this year was more than $600,000 and there was a big lift in new listings and sales. 05-02-2013 more >>
The housing market is continuing to take a battering from well intentioned but misinformed lobby groups and political parties concerned about house prices. Facts do not back up their beliefs however. 01-02-2013 more >>
Migration is slowing, which is likely to put further pressure on house prices. New Zealand had seasonally adjusted net migration of zero in December 2012. 01-02-2013 more >>
Something that both the Green and Labour housing affordability policies have in common is that they are great for those in a position to buy houses through them. They are less good for everyone else. 29-01-2013 more >>
National residential property values are up 1.9% over the past three months, 5.7% up on the same time last year, and 1.5% higher than the last market peak, according to QV. 25-01-2013 more >>
The Green Party’s proposals to get low-income earners into housing have been panned by the New Zealand Property Investors Federation. 25-01-2013 more >>
Warrants of fitness for rentals and restrictions on rent hikes are high on the Green Party list of priorities in its new housing policy, released today. 24-01-2013 more >>
Auckland’s council says signs of increasing activity in the city’s construction sector indicate more sustained economic growth ahead for the region. 22-01-2013 more >>
New Zealand’s Government is expecting another house price boom but won’t be intervening with measures such as rent control or public housing schemes, Finance Minister Bill English says. 21-01-2013 more >>
More than half of New Zealanders support the introduction of a capital gains tax on residential investment properties, a new poll has shown. 21-01-2013 more >>
Mortgage approval rates are back at levels not seen for more than three-and-a-half years, Reserve Bank data reveals. In the week before Christmas, there were more than 8000 home loans approved. 18-01-2013 more >>