12 October 2015

Generation Rent sees another hefty price rise

Auckland’s median house price has risen more than 25 per cent in the past year making home ownership even more out of reach for Generation Rent, says Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford.

“It’s appalling that the price of houses has been rising by $1,000 dollars a day in the past month with the median now reaching $771,000 according to REINZ figures released today .

“These figures confirm earlier QV data that showed Auckland’s average house price had tracked up by nearly 23 per cent. That is the fastest rate of increase since 1994, and casts doubt on some of the commentary that Auckland’s market is cooling.

“It also confirms the hard truth that Generation Rent is being forced out of the market by skyrocketing prices, which will also flow through into higher rents.

“The big question is whether the Government’s half measures such as the bright-line speculators’ test will have any impact in the months to come. Expert submitters have criticised the Bill as ‘a bad idea’, ‘incoherent’ and ‘ineffective’.

“What we really need to do is get cracking on a massive house building programme and stop speculators by banning non-resident foreign buyers from buying existing homes,” Phil Twyford says.

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