Too many costly homes

Kay Saville-Smith

Abstract – Tuhinga Whakarāpopoto

Aotearoa New Zealand is building more homes now than it has in the last 45 years. This is critical to make up the housing supply deficit of recent years. While more new houses are going up, they’re not necessarily ones that middle and low-income New Zealanders can afford, leaving the housing affordability crisis unresolved.

It is well established that New Zealand’s building industry has been moving upmarket with higher and higher proportions of dwellings built in the top 25% of house values. That rush to building high-value housing rather than low-cost housing has been particularly pronounced since the 1990s. By 2014, almost 58% of house new builds were in the highest quarter of house prices. The housing crisis partly reflects that reduction in low-cost housing production.

Other reports associated with this research

Saville-Smith, K. (2018). Revitalising the production of lower value homes: Researching dynamics and outcomes. 16pgs. Paper presented to European Network of Housing Researchers Conference, Uppsala, Sweden, 27-29 June 2018.

Saville-Smith, K. (Ed.). (2019). Revitalising the production of affordable housing for productive, engaged & healthy lives: Integrated report. Report for Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities: Homes and Spaces for Generations. November 2019, 109pgs. Wellington: BBHTC.

Articles associated with this research – Karere Tūhono

Case Study: Too many costly homes

Originally published in Build magazine, issue 177, April 2020.

21 April 2020: While more new houses are going up, they’re not necessarily ones that middle and low-income New Zealanders can afford, leaving the housing affordability crisis unresolved. >> Read More

Keywords – Kupu Hāngai

Housing, house prices, new builds, affordable housing, economics, housing supply

Fields of Research – Āpure Rangahau

Economics; Housing supply; Housing affordability

Date – Te Wā Whakarewa

2020-04

Type – Te Auaha

Magazine article

Collections – Kohinga Kaupapa

• Te Tai Tokerau / Northern Aoteoroa New Zealand
• Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland
• Hauraki-Waikato / North Western North Island
• Waiariki (Tauranga, Whakatāne, Rotorua, Taupo)
• Te Tai Hauāuru / Western North Island
• Ikaroa-Rawhiti / East Coast and Pōneke / Wellington
• Te Waipounamu / South Island
• Homes and Spaces for Generations
• Mana Kāinga / Housing
• Mana Tangata / Mental Health and Wellbeing

Citation – Kupu Hautoa

Saville-Smith, K. (2020, 1 April). Too many costly homes. build magazine, 177.