The “Kiwi dream” is over – the housing crisis just gets worse and worse:
Housing affordability plummets across New Zealand
New research from Massey University shows the affordability of homes nationwide has dropped by 11.4% over the past 12 months …
Even worse news, The Home Affordability Report found the situation is expected to deteriorate, with mortgage rates set to rise. It’s compounded by a decline in the national average wage in 10 of the 12 regions surveyed.
The emphasis is mine, the “brighter future” is all National’s.
Whereas Labour would have built more houses, National’s policies are (as predicted) making the problem worse:
Investors move in as first-home buyers fold
Property investors are the big winners from the Reserve Bank’s mortgage restrictions, while first-home buyers are increasingly struggling to afford a house. …
… data from property analysis company CoreLogic has shown activity among investors who owned two or more properties had hit a 10-year high. Big investors with more than 10 properties were the most active, buying about two out of every five homes in August.
The emphasis is mine. 2 / 5 homes bought by big investors? Of course first time buyers don’t stand a chance. Oh – sorry! – investors disagree!
Wellington Property Investors Association president Jackie Thomas-Teague said there would be a good time for first-home buyers in future and there was no need to panic over “a dimple in the marketplace”. “Investors are not pushing up prices. They never do. I don’t think they are in competition with first-home buyers,” she said.
Mmmmm.
Westpac bank chief economist Dominick Stephens said the investor surge was predicted when the loan-to-value ratio restrictions were introduced. “Our view was it would have relatively little effect on house prices, as property investors would come in and replace the first-home buyers.”
And so it has come to pass – thanks National. With three more wasted years coming up, the Kiwi dream is over.
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