Masterton Rents Set to Rise under Labour

ACT’s Wairarapa candidate Roger Greenslade has expressed concern at Labours announced changes around rentals and the negative impact it will have on renters in places like Masterton.

“Labours proposed changes to remove negative gearing, banning letting fees, restricting how landlords can rent their properties and introducing a capital gains tax will only make it harder to find a home to rent and drive the average rent price even higher.”

Roger has previously worked as a Real Estate agent in Masterton, is a past President of the Wairarapa Property Investor Association and is a current landlord. He has seen the effects of previous interventions in the property investment market.

“When the Reserve Bank brought in the higher LVR for rental properties there was a noticeable decline in properties sold to investors in Masterton. As a result, more properties were being purchased by first home buyers, however the demand for rentals has not decrease. This has resulted in a shortage of homes available to rent and the median rent for a three-bedroom home in Masterton rising from about $270 per week to $310 per week over the past two years.”

“Property Investors perform an important role in providing rental homes in the economy. We need to be encouraging investors to purchase more homes to rent rather than introducing policies and taxes that will discourage investors.”

“Labour in true form is targeting the productivity of hard working individuals by appealing to the masses while hitting out at the investors that are incorrectly labelled the problem.”

ENDS

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