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Try hard website lacks credibility

Hon Dr Nick Smith
Minister for Building and Housing

14 July 2016 Media Statement

Try hard website lacks credibility

A housing website launched by Labour today claiming 98 per cent of New Zealand has a housing crisis lacks credibility and shows how desperate the opposition has become to overstate New Zealand’s housing challenges, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith says.

“The claim that 98 per cent of New Zealand has a housing crisis because house price increases have exceeded wage increases is not credible. This definition would mean almost every region of New Zealand was in crisis for all of Labour’s nine years in government, during which house prices rose 102 per cent and wages 44 per cent.

“Wage increases have actually exceeded house prices in four of National’s eight years in Government. It is a nonsense for Labour to claim that there is an issue in communities such as Waimate, where I have been today and where the average house costs $220,000. The Mayor of Waimate tells me the biggest challenge is attracting people to live in their homes

“Added to that, Labour’s website is riddled with errors and misinformation, with the homeownership rates differing from those provided at the last Census. It claims 82 per cent of homes in Christchurch are rented – but that is the figure for the CBD. In fact, for the city as a whole, 65 per cent of homes are owner occupied.

“Another error is around incomes; it claims Wellington incomes have dropped in the past year, whereas the latest quarterly employment survey shows wages have increased. The data on rents is also incorrect, with the latest Auckland data rents up 4.1 per cent; Labour claims it’s 5.2 per cent.

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“This information is about is reliable as what they used to supposedly identify Chinese buyers in Auckland - based on the sound of their names.

“If people want reliable information on New Zealand’s housing sector they should look to the independent information provided by Statistics New Zealand and other independent agencies, and not biased data cooked up to serve Labour’s political purposes.

“Labour seems more focused on playing politics and spouting misinformation than supporting practical measures which will get more people into their first homes, measures which are contributing to what is now the biggest building boom in New Zealand's history.

ENDS

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