NZ housing world's least affordable
Jan 21, 2008 8:41 AM
New Zealand houses are now the least affordable in the world, according to an international survey.
The Demographia study of major urban markets in the world's six most expensive countries says New Zealand has overtaken Australia for house prices outstripping wages.
New Zealand was the only country of the six surveyed where all of the cities ranked were rated severely unaffordable.
However, of the list of 227 cities, the top five were in the United States, with the worst being Los Angeles.
Of the New Zealand cities looked at, Tauranga is now the country's most expensive ranked at 20th of the 227 cities studied, followed by Auckland at 31st, Christchurch at 34th, Hamilton at 40th and Wellington at 46th.
Former Reserve Bank chairman Dr Don Brash is involved with the survey.
He says the affordability of housing is overwhelmingly down to the extent to which governments place artificial restrictions on the supply of residential land.
But Prime Minister Helen Clark says claims New Zealand has the least affordable housing in the world are misleading.
Clark says New Zealand not looked at alongside nations such as France, Sweden, Austria, Germany or Spain.
She admits it's tough for young people in New Zealand buying their first homes.
Clark also says rising property prices have given a lot of homeowners an extraordinary feeling of wealth.
Topic: Damn I could of been rich (sigh) NZ housing world's least affordable (Read 742 times)