Rent Week 2018: His friend did it, so he thought he would try it too and save some money. In his last year at university he started living in a van. Now, two years later, he’s moving on. As told to Jamie Small. Recently I sold the van I lived in for two years. And … Read more
Rent Week 2018: Two tales from a small Tauranga community illustrate the challenges solo mums still face in the renting market. It was reported in January that Tauranga now outranks Auckland as New Zealand’s most unaffordable city and in the city’s pressured rental market, landlords these days have their pick of tenants and of rental … Read more
Sell up and move to Tauranga for a better, more affordable lifestyle? Keri Welham finds Tauranga is still desirable, but housing and wages mean it may now be out of reach. The mass migration has ended. Gone are the convoys of removal vans thundering down the Southern Motorway, and the scenes of Aucklander vs Aucklander … Read more
Yes, Auckland does need more houses. Urban planner Joe Jeffries explains why. A recent article in The Spinoff made the extraordinary claim that increasing housing supply cannot improve affordability and seemed to suggest it could make things worse. That article relied on a strawman version of Economics 101 supply and demand, claiming that model doesn’t … Read more
With house prices at an all-time high, an increasing number of young people are thinking about pooling their resources and buying a property together. But is it really a good idea? In the first part of a series on investment alternatives for ‘Generation Rent’, Jenee Tibshraeny looks at the financial implications of buying with friends. … Read more
House prices are how high now? Maria Slade takes a look behind an alarming graph and finds NZ’s housing ‘bubble’ may be overblown. Canadian commentator and investment adviser Hilliard McBeth alarmed the Twittersphere this week when he posted a graph showing New Zealand house prices 65 times higher than they were in 1970. This compares … Read more
Can families live in tiny houses without driving each other mad? Carole Payton talks to a mum who lives in a 15 square-metre home with her family of four to find out what it’s really like to live tiny. The popularity of ‘tiny houses’ keeps growing. All over social media teeny palaces of perfect proportions … Read more
The Block NZ signifies everything that’s wrong with our tax system. Takapuna tax expert Terry Baucher fills Rebecca Stevenson in on how we can get a lump of cash, and keep it all to ourselves. After we all recovered from the horror that was The Block NZ finale, it’s a good time to learn why … Read more
So much of the New Zealand economy appears to be doing well. Tourism numbers are astonishing, Kiwis are coming home in their droves alongside new migrants, many of whom are young. But Rebecca Stevenson finds the Kiwi property market is always looming behind the sunshine. Do all roads in New Zealand lead to housing? Probably. … Read more
How does New Zealand get out of the housing hole it’s bought and sold itself into? Property and construction professional James Goodhue has a comprehensive plan. Decent housing is a basic human right. Affordable housing and balanced rental legislation are fundamental needs for an equitable society. Home ownership and secure housing tenure are important ingredients … Read more
If the government won’t do something about housing, then Queenstown mayor Jim Boult will – or at least, that’s the plan. Peter Newport finds out how he proposes to fix the town’s affordable housing crisis – now officially worse than Auckland’s – and why he’s calling on Wellington to loosen its iron grip on local … Read more
Sooner or later, most Auckland first home buyers ask themselves if all the misery is really worth it. For Paul Davies, the answer, in the end, was no. And then he got a call from Melbourne… Let’s cut to the chase. We all know it’s a beautiful country, but the flip side of New Zealand’s … Read more
‘If you create the community, then great things will come from it.’ In Hawke’s Bay, a papa kāinga – or community housing development – is providing a blueprint for social housing provision in New Zealand. On a hilltop overlooking the long stretch of Waimarama beach in Hawke’s Bay is a cluster of new houses that … Read more
It’s Rent Week here on The Spinoff, so why are we writing about house buyers? Because the booming housing market is a key driver behind the current surge in renting – and because stories like these demonstrate the enormous challenges faced by those attempting to make the leap from renter to home owner. We talk … Read more
News that house prices fell this month represents a tiny glimmer of hope for ever-gloomy first home buyers. But is that optimism, however feeble, at all justified? Economist Shamubeel Eaqub investigates. House prices fell in February, per latest data from QV. Time to celebrate the popping of the bubble, right? Hold on, don’t uncork the … Read more
Last week we invited you to lob your Auckland housing crisis questions at AUT professor John Tookey, an expert on the subject. Today he responds to a selection of the many questions he received, and explains why – spoiler alert – there are no easy answers. John Tookey is a Professor of Construction Management at … Read more
Why did we endorse Not Mike Lee? We explain our controversial decision and talk housing, elections and potential mayors with a pair of all-star guests. With Auckland in the throes of voting, Mana editor Leonie Hayden joins the Warcast to recap the most recent mayoral debate at Ngā Whare Waatea Marae, where one candidate emerged as a clear crowd favourite. Hayden … Read more
In an interview on The Nation, Nick Smith said he wants to make houses more affordable without actually making them cheaper. Hayden Donnell weighs in, with the help of Ben Thomas, on the two contradictory versions of the Housing Minister. Here’s a list of things worth $1 million: 1. Three black market kidneys 2. Two private islands in … Read more
Auckland’s housing issues won’t be solved by short term fixes to deep rooted problems. The government and Council needs to stop the blame game and start working together, says property expert Leonie Freeman. Faced with a crisis, we tend to focus on finding the silver bullet to deal to it. Usually without success, silver bullets … Read more
Green MP and planning geek Julie Anne Genter reacts to the Unitary Plan – and announces a four-step programme to radically evolve our urban environment into the future. I love city planning – I’m a planning geek. So it’s pretty cool seeing people get excited about the Auckland Unitary Plan. The actual document might be … Read more