Posts Tagged ‘housing’

Free houses?

Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, February 17th, 2015 - 188 comments

That may be what it takes to interest charities in becoming “social housing” providers.

Salvation Army – State of the Nation

Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, February 11th, 2015 - 18 comments

This morning the Salvation Army released their state of the nation report – A Mountain All Can Climb. It is mixed news, and most coverage has focused on the impact of the housing crisis.

Locking in housing inequality

Written By: - Date published: 3:20 pm, February 9th, 2015 - 37 comments

We are in the process of locking in inequality through the intergenerational ownership of housing, thus squeezing more and more mobility out of society.

PM’s science award winners on the sell-off

Written By: - Date published: 11:51 am, January 31st, 2015 - 27 comments

“The Government’s continuing attempts to divest itself of state housing overlook the enormous benefits to society which these homes produce in alleviating severe housing shortages. They were built up by successive generations of New Zealanders, and to “sell them off” under the pretence of efficiency is a disservice to all of us, whether we’re homeowners or renters.”

Polity: Key deluded on housing progress

Written By: - Date published: 1:29 pm, January 28th, 2015 - 28 comments

Rob Salmond at Polity on Key – “Is he deluded, or is he being deliberately misleading?”…

Nats’ economic genius at work in the property market

Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, November 14th, 2014 - 45 comments

On Monday Bill English reckoned that pressures in the property market were “easing”. Yesterday’s headline “Spring house price surge in October”…

Housing policy shambles

Written By: - Date published: 7:43 am, November 5th, 2014 - 30 comments

National’s sale of state housing assets and other aspects of housing policy is stupid at all levels. Which is probably why they are confused themselves about it.

No point in state houses

Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, October 18th, 2014 - 75 comments

There’s no point in state houses. Not according to the Nats anyway. Unbelievable.

The housing dream

Written By: - Date published: 2:06 pm, October 14th, 2014 - 23 comments

The “Kiwi dream” is over – the housing crisis just gets worse and worse.

Cause of poverty and inequality found!

Written By: - Date published: 8:06 am, October 8th, 2014 - 36 comments

Good news citizens! The National government has revealed unto us today the cause of poverty and inequality.

Nat housing policy panned

Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, August 13th, 2013 - 31 comments

Labour and The Greens are clearly setting the agenda with a strong focus on housing affordability. National are struggling to catch up. But their new policy has been met with a chorus of criticism. They are going to have to do a lot better than this.

National’s “housing policy” is to reverse its previous cuts

Written By: - Date published: 4:25 pm, August 12th, 2013 - 19 comments

not-welcome

Reaction to housing policy

Written By: - Date published: 8:17 am, July 31st, 2013 - 134 comments

Labour will be pleased at the reaction to its Latest housing policy, from Vernon Small, John Armstrong and (knock me down with a feather) Colin Espiner. Opinion polling is also in favour.

Speculation

Written By: - Date published: 8:32 pm, July 30th, 2013 - 143 comments

I know many of the liberal left don’t like or can’t accept the thought that banning non-residents from speculating on residential property in NZ is in any way xenophobic. Thankfully, from my perspective at least, the liberal left doesn’t speak for the whole of the left. Thing is, this banning of foreign investment is similar […]

Labour’s new housing policy – Shearer on Q+A

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, July 28th, 2013 - 702 comments

David Shearer on Q+A just set out new policy on housing, proposing restrictions on overseas buyers. It’s another big policy move from Labour…

Mana housing policy needs work

Written By: - Date published: 1:27 pm, June 21st, 2013 - 28 comments

Mana’s housing policy is ambitious, and leaves National’s inaction looking increasingly isolated and out of touch. But there are too many gaps in this policy as currently stated. Needs work.

Nats sign up for KiwiBuild?

Written By: - Date published: 6:16 pm, May 10th, 2013 - 26 comments

KiwiBuild has already been a success, scaring the Nats in to producing, in conjunction with Len Brown’s Auckland, a more significant housing policy. The “Unitary Plan” is woefully short on detail, but it concedes that KiwiBuild’s target of 10,000 new homes a year is easily achievable (I guess it’s only impossible when Labour propose it).

Because things aren’t quite tough enough

Written By: - Date published: 9:35 am, May 9th, 2013 - 24 comments

Because things aren’t quite tough enough for first-time home buyers yet.

NRT: 2,000 new homes? Yeah, right

Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, February 19th, 2013 - 6 comments

In last year’s budget Key promised his government would build 2,000 new homes. They delivered (wait for it) … 68. I/S at No Right Turn (happy birthday by the way!) takes them to task…

Where is National on house prices?

Written By: - Date published: 10:04 am, January 16th, 2013 - 41 comments

With a 10% increase in the median house price last year, we’re firmly back on a damaging house price binge. Labour has policies that address the issue. Where is National?

KiwiBuild

Written By: - Date published: 1:13 pm, November 18th, 2012 - 216 comments

100,000 new entry level homes. The biggest public building programme in over fifty years. Hope for young families and households. A massive boost to jobs and the economy.

This is a historic policy.

The housing policy

Written By: - Date published: 7:41 am, November 16th, 2012 - 60 comments

Labour is due to release its big housing policy at conference and I suspect it’ll be either a Kirk style subsidised mortgage scheme for first home buyers or a substantial increase in state housing stocks.

McCarten: Waging war on working class

Written By: - Date published: 9:09 am, May 22nd, 2012 - 11 comments

Matt McCarten’s latest column is a must read. There is something nasty going on…

House Price Inflation

Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, May 6th, 2012 - 59 comments

Land prices rising much faster than wages. Shares, derivatives, hedge funds or other financial instruments are designed so that banks can gamble with our money. Win or lose they always get a cut. Loss comes out of our pensions and other savings. Or, if they really stuff it up, taxpayers are expected to borrow more from them to pay for it. Banks following their own self interest and are compounding economies to oblivion. The “invisible hand” has failed..

Foresight

Written By: - Date published: 11:04 am, March 20th, 2012 - 16 comments

There’s no rental properties in Christchurch. Impossible for builders to move there and for families to move while their houses are being repaired. Who warned of a mass housing shortage a year ago and called for action? What did the government provide? A few over-priced caravans and a handful of temporary houses far short of the 10,000 promised.

State housing decline will leave families out in the cold

Written By: - Date published: 6:41 pm, July 7th, 2010 - 11 comments

Stuff reports that under Minister Phil Heatley, Housing NZ will manage additions of only 275 houses for each of the next two years. Under the previous government 8000 state houses were added between 1999 and 2008. In a recession, with household budgets stretched, state provision of high quality, affordable housing is even more important for […]

What the hell is the sub-prime crisis?

Written By: - Date published: 10:46 am, March 19th, 2008 - 49 comments

The sub-prime crisis is at the heart of the world’s current economic problems. It all boils down to financiers playing fast and loose with the rules of how money works, and the US government not keeping an eye on them. Essentially, they created a whole new class of interest-bearing pieces of paper that were supposedly […]

National’s house of straw

Written By: - Date published: 5:38 pm, February 14th, 2008 - 13 comments

Affordable housing is the topic de jour. The foundation of affordable housing in New Zealand and other developed nations has long been houses built by the government and rented cheaply: state housing. Since the construction of the first state house in 1937, it has been a history of Labour building them and National selling them […]

Affordable housing

Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, February 14th, 2008 - 5 comments

Not in my back yard. Alright, maybe in my back yard but only if the state isn’t involved. UPDATE: No Right Turn has an interesting post on Key’s privatisation plans.

Key hopping on Hobsonville

Written By: - Date published: 9:39 pm, February 13th, 2008 - 40 comments

Just spotted this statement from Maryan Street up on Scoop which suggests at least one reason why Mr Key would like the issue of housing afforability to go away. Hobsonville is turning into an embarassment for him: In June 2006 he said on National Radio: “So you’re talking about very expensive land. I mean, I […]

Own home dream

Written By: - Date published: 7:10 pm, February 13th, 2008 - 27 comments

Is tax really the answer to housing affordability? The editorial in the NZ Herald today motivated a reader to send us these observations: ‘It has long been a dream for New Zealanders to own their own home and it is not a dream that we should dampen. Helping families own their own home may increase […]