Oh no: one landlord is set to own all of Christchurch by the year 2053

map of christchurch covered in houses

On Wednesday, Stuff wrote a glowing tribute to aspiring property magnate Ana Meredith. We commissioned a special Spinoff data project to look into some of Meredith’s ambitions, and unearthed some disturbing implications. Stuff’s profile of the Christchurch serial landlord Ana Meredith is pitched as an inspirational riches-to-riches tale. It starts in 2016, with Meredith nervously … Read more

One simple idea to fix New Zealand’s dysfunctional housing market

real estate auction

Currently, investors are essentially subsidised to outbid homebuyers. Instead, why not give homebuyers a tax cut and make the speculators pay? Have you ever wanted to throw a party but worried no one would come? My wife and I thought of having a party this year to celebrate paying off our mortgage but quickly realised … Read more

The other tax recommendations the government ignored

Along with no CGT, the Labour government is left with other tax headaches like what to do about sugar consumption, the environment, and tax thresholds that haven’t changed in a decade, writes Terry Baucher. Perhaps the Tax Working Group was fatally compromised from the outset when the taxation of the family home was excluded from … Read more