Grant Robertson
MP for Wellington Central
Finance Spokesperson

MEDIA STATEMENT

26 October 2016

National’s $1trillion property sandcastle

The National government's failure to fix the housing crisis has seen the ballooning and unsustainable property market touch the $1 trillion mark, Labour’s Finance spokesperson Grant Robertson says.

"Labour wants an economy that creates high wage work that is based on building our productivity, adding value and innovation. Under National we have an economy that is built on the shifting sands of high household debt, record levels of immigration and an overvalued property market."

"The latest Core Logic Monthly Property Market Report has the residential real estate stock valued at $998 billion, including $225 billion in home loans. This is eight times the total value of our stock market. Our economy is unbalanced and any increase in interest rates or external shock could have serious consequences."

"A significant factor in the over-valuing of the housing stock is the failure of the National government to address either the supply or demand side of the housing equation. Instead of adopting Labour's plan to build affordable homes and crack down on speculators, they have allowed the market to run riot and balloon to unsustainable levels."

"The QV report also shows that nationwide sales to investors now make up 41 per cent of property transactions, close to a record for this series. Only Labour has the policies to give first home buyers a fair go, such as Kiwibuild and putting a stop to negative gearing."

"After eight years it is clear that National are simply not able or prepared to act. New Zealanders will not build sustainable wealth by selling houses to each other. Only a change of government will see the investment in the productive economy, decent work and strong public services to give New Zealanders security and opportunity." says Grant Robertson.

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