19 July 2016

Housing crisis hitting essential services

Auckland could face a shortage of teachers, nurses, and police officers if house prices continue rising out of their reach, the Green Party said today.

A new survey of Auckland primary schools found that high housing costs are putting teachers off seeking jobs in Auckland, leading to potential staff shortages and overcrowded classes in schools.

“It’s becoming completely unaffordable for the people who make our communities function to live in our country’s biggest city,” Green Party Co-leader James Shaw said.

“National’s years of inaction on the housing crisis means we’ve got more and more people living in Auckland but fewer people who can afford to look after their healthcare, keep them safe, and teach their kids.

“When the median Auckland house price is almost 15 times the annual income of nurses and police officers, who can blame them for wanting to live somewhere else?

“The broken housing market is not serving the best interests of New Zealand.

“National’s failure to fix the housing crisis has meant that teachers, nurses, and police officers are facing an almost impossible challenge to buy a house in Auckland.

“The Government needs to build affordable houses, modernise planning rules, close tax loopholes and bring in a proper capital gains tax (excluding the family home), and restrict overseas investors,” Mr Shaw said.

Profession Average salary Average salary midpoint Experience House price to income ratio
Primary Teacher $46,000-72,000 $59,000 Average 13.9
Secondary Teacher $48,000-72,000 $60,000 Average 13.7
Nurse $47,000-64,000 $55,500 1-5 years 14.8
Paramedic $58,000-72,000 $65,000 Average 12.6
Police Officer $53,000-58,000 $55,500 1-4 years 14.8

*Salary data from Careers NZ www.careers.govt.nz, calculations using REINZ June 2016 median Auckland house price of $821,000. A ratio of 3.0 is generally considered affordable.

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