23 August 2016

Survey shows sense on housing affordability

A new poll shows New Zealanders have grasped the realities of the housing crisis better than the Prime Minister and his Government, the Green Party said today.

New data from UMR shows that 85 percent of Aucklanders say there is a housing crisis, and 60 percent of Aucklanders and 55 percent of home-owners nationwide believe house prices should come down.

“It’s clear that most New Zealanders know National has let Auckland house prices get out of control and it’s now time to rein them in,” Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said.

“We need a careful, managed plan to raise incomes and reduce median Auckland house prices over time to a level where housing is affordable again.

“National can’t keep ignoring the fact that if there’s no plan to fix the housing crisis, we run the risk of a sudden market crash that could really hurt people and the economy more broadly.

“The role of Government is to make sure the economy is working for everyone, and that means making sure people can buy affordable homes for three to four times the median household income.

“When John Key says this data needs to be taken with a grain of salt, he’s actually rubbing salt in the wounds of middle and low income Auckland families who are currently locked out of the housing market.

“John Key says reducing house prices would be a ‘war on the poor’ but the real war on the poor has been his Government’s policies that have led to rents rising twice as fast as wages and thousands of state homes being sold off.

“If the Government was serious about fixing the housing crisis, it would stop property speculators with a proper capital gains tax (excluding the family home), ban sales to foreign investors, and build thousands of affordable homes,” said Mrs Turei.

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