It’s just been a very bad start to the week from the government when it comes to statements on transport and housing, weeps Hayden Donnell. National has a long and proud tradition of being wrong about everything when it comes to Auckland. Its ministers have consistently had to be dragged screaming out of the 18th … Read more
Each winter, cold houses in New Zealand cause the death of almost 1600 people, and hundreds of thousands more have their health and wellbeing severely curtailed. It’s a national emergency, but the government agency tasked with addressing it has had its budget slashed to the bone. Cold comfort for freezing New Zealanders, writes Peter Newport. … Read more
The associate housing minister has apologised again for his threats to non-government service providers. But Boyd Swinburn says a muzzle is a contractual reality for NGOs receiving government money. The hapless MP Alfred Ngaro has repeatedly apologised for “crossing the line” after his threats to withdraw funding for government sponsored organisations if they ever criticsed the … Read more
Do the Devonport nimbys have a point? Is it good enough to settle for developments that are merely ‘good enough’? Simon Wilson reports on the retirement village project that has big implications for the whole city. My parents spent their last years at a Ryman Healthcare facility, so I know a little about that company’s … Read more
What can we learn from the spate of reports about young people bucking the odds and purchasing property? Chris McDowall reads them all and crunches the numbers. Over the last few months I’ve taken to hate-reading the NZ Herald and Stuff articles about plucky young Kiwis buying their first home. Last week, while reading Russell Brown’s excellent … Read more
When you crunch the numbers on Auckland’s housing crisis, the result is clear: we’re still going backwards. So why aren’t we changing our approach? Leonie Freeman thinks she has a solution. Even before we dial up the numbers, it’s clear we are in an uncomfortable space. Changing policies, high level cluelessness, a demand-supply failure and … Read more
Spinoff editor Duncan Greive looks back at rent week, a pop-up campaign which laid bare the numerous and vicious problems with renting in New Zealand. We first mooted a Spinoff ‘rent week’ in late 2016. It was based on the idea that the stories of home ownership were being told constantly, but the challenges and … Read more
Rent week: a reader shares the story of her struggles to buy a house. She’s done everything you’re supposed to do as an aspirant home-owner – yet the banks won’t lend to her. Here she shares her story. I’m one of what I presume are many embittered twenty-somethings who feel like Stuff and NZHerald are … Read more
Finding a safe, secure rental is hard for anyone of limited means in 2017. But the ugly truth is that it is often that much harder for Pasifika and Māori. Emmaline Matagi tells the stories of three such whānau, whose names have been changed to protect them against further discrimination. The Auckland housing crisis has so many … Read more
On Monday we asked for your renting stories, good and bad, and the response so far has been overwhelming. This is the second installment (read part one here), with more to come throughout Rent Week. I‘ve been back renting in Wellington for the past year. It’s a three bedroom downstairs flat, in a big old … Read more
What does the dream of owning a home mean in 2017? Is it still achievable for those not already on the property ladder – or even a worthwhile goal? And what are you willing (or able) to sacrifice in order to reach it? The Spinoff wants to hear your stories. If you hadn’t heard, things … Read more
First published as part of The Spinoff’s Rent Week series earlier this year, we’re resharing this op-ed from an anonymous landlord to mark the release of Unsettled, our documentary about the New Zealand housing crisis. I’m one of the “amateur landlords” Duncan Greive mentioned yesterday, the ones who former Reserve Bank governor Arthur Grimes says … Read more
Higher hurdles to home-owning have led to more and longer home rentals. Currently the medium and long-term rights are with the landlord, writes property market expert and Massey emeritus professor Bob Hargreaves. New Zealand families typically aspire to own their own homes. But the path to home ownership has become increasingly difficult in recent years, … Read more
To kick off Rent Week, The Spinoff writers and friends share some of the worst renting conditions they’ve had to live with. Please feel free to share your own on our Facebook page, or send to info@thespinoff.co.nz to be added to this anthology of atrocious landlords and homes across in New Zealand. Don Rowe: Just … Read more
National and Labour might deny it, but they have a surprising amount in common on housing. But they also have some big differences, and neither of them seems to really understand what to do about state housing. Why not? Both parties pledge to build more affordable homes, expand the social housing stock and shelter more … Read more
Great news for young people struggling to buy a house while spending up large on window washers, cat whisperers and feng shui consultants. Inspired by big bank economist Tony Alexander, the Spinoff has one hundred thousand dollars for you. A huge couple of days for li’l New Zealand. Lorde has released a superb new record. … 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
Falling interest rates are great news for homeowners – but pocketing your mortgage savings could be the worst financial decision you make, says the Commission for Financial Capability’s David Boyle. A couple of things happened in 1988 that stick in my mind: I got my hands on The Pogues’ album If I Should Fall From … Read more
Politicians John A. Lee and Norman Kirk used lessons drawn from their experience of poverty to create affordable housing, while John Key – despite famously being born in state housing – has overseen its demise. Oliver Chan argues that it’s time to restore the house that Jack built. This is the story of three politicians: … Read more
In October we invited you to lob your Auckland housing crisis questions at AUT professor John Tookey, an expert on the subject. Here 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
Under the Unitary Plan at least 400,000 new homes will be built to meet the growth of Auckland over the next 30 years. But while we wait for the Plan to take effect, let’s take a look at how many dwellings are being built right now. News that 35 Auckland apartment development projects have collapsed … Read more
Further reading and links to the data used in this comic can be found here.
For all the hand-wringing over the economic damage done by the housing crisis, precious little attention is paid to its health effects – particularly on those living in poverty. Dr George Laking explains why house prices should come with a health warning. Warning: contains photos of doctors and gory things. We loved our scuzzy flat … Read more
Every immigration debate in history* has been riddled with racism. Duncan Greive looked at current coverage of the issue – and its impact on housing – and came away pleasantly surprised. September’s North & South came out a couple of Mondays ago and devoted a large chunk of its feature well to a single issue: immigration. It’s … Read more
The housing minister insists the government is limited to getting ‘the incentives’ right. But there’s plenty more they could do. And there’s only one Auckland mayoral candidate with a policy solution, writes Geoff Simmons. The average price of a house in Auckland is predicted to pass $1m when official figures are released later this week. … Read more
The Spinoff/SSI survey reveals the extraordinary impact of housing crisis on residents of New Zealand’s biggest city – and the extent to which Aucklanders blame foreign speculation. There is a housing crisis in Auckland, and it has already bitten hard across the city, according to the latest results from polling conducted by SSI for the Spinoff … Read more
To launch the new Figure.NZ feature on the Spinoff, here’s how New Zealand’s biggest city has increased in population, and how it is projected to increase further. To completely disabuse readers of any impression that the Spinoff is Auckland-centric and fixated on the city’s growth, we’ve chosen for the inaugural installment of our new collaboration … Read more
On Sunday, the Herald ran a crazily racist opinion piece where an unnamed real estate agent criticised Auckland for being “unwholesomely Chinese”. Guy Williams went in search of the truth about the story, and ended up being sucked down a rabbit hole filled with intrigue, recriminations, and Winston Peters. Holy shit! I’m in too deep. … Read more
Achieving a better, fairer Auckland involves much more than just building affordable homes. Urbanist Jenny McArthur explains why liveability should be a key demand of the War for Auckland. As an academic specialising in infrastructure and urban growth, I’ve been delighted by how The Spinoff’s War for Auckland series has helped stimulate the public’s interest … Read more