The region is known to lack many of the advantages of central and north Auckland suburbs, yet properties command rents as high as the likes of Mt Albert and Ōnehunga. So how do landlords get away with charging so much, Justin Latif asks. If you write the words “is South Auckland” into Google, the first … Read more
As much of the world is brought to its knees by Covid-19, tens of thousands of New Zealanders are coming home. Alex Braae investigates what it could mean for the country. At this stage, all we really have is raw numbers. We don’t know exactly who the returning New Zealanders are, or what skills they’re … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Labour launches campaign while National releases list, frantic final days at parliament wrapped, and new poll shows Shane Jones in trouble in Northland. Some would say the campaign has been underway for months in a proxy form, but officially, it’s now all on. The parliamentary term … Read more
Parliament has just passed a new law that will leave renters with a sense of relief. But many landlords aren’t too pleased. What’s all this then? The Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill passed under urgency this evening. It amends existing law around renting to increase rights for tenants. According to associate housing minister Kris Faafoi, who’s … Read more
The quest to create affordable housing in New Zealand is an interminable dilemma. But as Dan Heyworth writes, the issue comes from the old British feudal land system on which ours is based. Recently I was involved in a project that responded to government calls to use off-site manufacturing to bring affordability to the housing … Read more
The government has announced its latest set of moves to get people into homeownership. So what’s it about and how will it work? What’s all this then? At a standup this morning, housing minister Megan Woods announced $400 million would be put towards the government’s new progressive home ownership scheme, which aims to give people … Read more
While banks predict house prices will still fall, by how much depends on a number of factors – including location, reports Brent Melville for BusinessDesk. Banks are being less than apocalyptic on their expectations for a post-Covid housing market correction, which could be as low as 5%, although they warn of potentially significant regional variations. … Read more
Covid-19 forced us to reconsider our relationship with the places we occupy, writes architect Mat Brown – and these new priorities will influence the design of our spaces in future. I think it’s safe to say, on behalf of my profession, that architecture is a conservative art. We design places that affect people’s lives for … Read more
While undoubtedly a challenging time, for many of the capital’s most marginalised people, the Covid-19 crisis provided the motivation they needed to move into a home – and showed how well government, social and community agencies can work together to help. When the call came to go home and stay home because of the threat … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Decision coming soon on move to level one, housing market in a weird place, and manslaughter charges laid against officers after custody death. As has been the way with these moves, we got an announcement of what the new alert level will be like, before … Read more
Budget 2020: With the unemployment rate growing and predicted to rise further, many more people face financial hardship and poverty. Alan Johnson explores how the government could address this in Thursday’s budget. In previous budgets the finance minister Grant Robinson proved himself a fiscal conservative, suggesting that it wasn’t time to fully address our various … Read more
Economists warn that house prices are about to see a sharp correction. The NZIER public good team explains why this is happening, and how we can handle it. For the first time in recent history, New Zealand has been preoccupied by something that isn’t the housing market. With the entire country locked down for four … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: False alarm sparks tsunami alert concerns, new development in story haunting NZ First, and unaffordable housing problem getting worse. A false alarm tsunami alert has resulted in changes to fix mistakes in the warning systems. Radio NZ reports a siren sounded on the Bay of Plenty coast, … Read more
Auckland’s property market is increasingly hard to crack for first-home buyers, but co-ownership could be the answer. Executive director of YouOwn, Nigel Spratt explained how it works to Alice Webb-Liddall. Despite the constant headlines about yet another 19-year-old who’s bought a house, the property market seems geared against anyone under 40 purchasing property. Coming to … Read more
The average New Zealand house price has hit a record high at over $700,000. What could we buy outside of Auckland – and around the world – for the same price? For the first time since records began in 2007, the average asking price for a house in New Zealand has risen to over $700,000. … Read more
In the second part of a new event series looking at the future of Auckland, The Spinoff and Auckland Council host In My Backyard: Glen Innes, to ask what the suburb can teach the rest of the city about housing. Photographer Brendan Kitto shares his images from the 2016 exhibition Redevelop which explored housing changes in … Read more
The government has announced a suite of practical changes to the Residential Tenancies Act in its bid to make renting fairer and more secure. Here’s what you need to know. What’s happening? A number of changes to the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) has just been announced by associate minister of housing Kris Faafoi. The RTA … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Housing market starts to get moving again, government reverses partnership visa decision, and man who assaulted James Shaw sentenced to prison. By a few key metrics, the housing market is starting to lift again. First of all, new listings in Auckland are way up, reports the NZ Herald. … Read more
Laura O’Connell Rapira looks at what benefit cuts and successive generations of an unregulated housing market has done to welfare and housing for those in the margins. For the first seven or so years of my life, I was raised mostly by my mum on the domestic purposes benefit (my dad is a big part … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Range of reaction to Kiwibuild reset, Peter Ellis dies before Supreme Court appeal can be heard, and calls for apology for te reo suppression. Hang on, it is still called Kiwibuild right? The government’s flagship policy, which has by most metrics been a disaster, has been … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Twyford and Parker propose new urban development policy statement, Tamihere unveils transport plans, and Māori King issues challenge on child abuse. For a lead today, a nudge towards one of those deeply dense announcements that could end up having a huge impact on the cities … Read more
Elle Hunt recalls her days renting in New Zealand as a time of suffering and survival. But don’t we deserve better? A case often made in favour of buying a house (as though it were something that you could simply be persuaded into) is that renting is “just throwing money down the drain”. Firstly, that’s … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Makhlouf departs with questions hanging in the air, emissions still not moving the right way, and ministerial roles in housing reshuffled. A few months ago, you’d probably be forgiven for not knowing the name Gabriel Makhlouf. Until yesterday, he was the secretary of Treasury – an … Read more
Don’t fall for the spin that presents this latest revision of a historical hostel building type as some kind of genuinely community-based housing, argues Mark Southcombe ‘Co’ is hip and cool. It’s fashionable as a prefix for all sorts of community-based and community-led, co-operative, collaborative and collective housing models. The prefix is also being co-opted … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Alarming raids against journalists in Australia, new stats show how many Aucklanders left town during boom, and yawning deficit in DHB funding. We’re going to start with an international story today, because it’s taking place in our backyard and is deeply concerning. The Australian Federal Police have … Read more
Our housing crisis is intimately linked to our prison overcrowding crisis, write Vanessa Cole and Ti Lamusse In May 2018, Charlotte was unexpectedly released from prison following a short period on remand. While in prison, Charlotte* lost her only source of income and the room she was renting. Her family were a major source of … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Govt gives and takes with first Wellbeing Budget, Treasury Secretary under immense pressure, and dozens of kākāpō sick from fungus. The question was asked in yesterday’s Bulletin – what does this government value enough to put real money towards? In the end, the Budget that was delivered wasn’t … Read more
It already looked like the housing market could take off again, and then the Reserve Bank went and made that a whole lot more likely. David Hargreaves analyses the forecasts, in this piece originally published on Interest.co.nz. It may seem the height of absurdity to talk about the possibility of the house market taking off … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: National calls for housing minister to be sacked, iwi vows no more children will be taken by Oranga Tamariki, and Christchurch businesses fear hard winter. Housing minister Phil Twyford hasn’t been the happiest camper during this term of government. He came into office with vast, visionary plans … Read more