New Zealand Housing Crisis Sparks Human Rights Inquiry

New Zealand’s housing crisis is having a “punishing impact” on marginalised communities and leaving many people homeless, the human rights commission said as it launched an inquiry into the country’s red-hot property market. P

BY Realty Plus
Published - Tuesday, 03 Aug, 2021

New Zealand Housing Crisis Sparks Human Rights Inquiry

New Zealand’s housing crisis is having a “punishing impact” on marginalised communities and leaving many people homeless, the human rights commission said as it launched an inquiry into the country’s red-hot property market. Property prices in New Zealand have soared by the most among OECD nations, rising about 30% in just the past 12 months. “The housing crisis in Aotearoa is also a human rights crisis encompassing homeownership, market renting, state housing and homelessness,” New Zealand’s Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt said in a statement using the country’s indigenous Maori name. New Zealand’s pandemic-inspired policies have translated into cheaper mortgages, allowing affluent “kiwis” to upsize their homes and build up portfolios of rental investment properties, fuelling a further surge in house prices. The nearly 30% year-on-year increase, on top of a 90% rise in the preceding decade, has locked out first home buyers and low income earners. The median house price in the biggest city Auckland has increased by 25% to NZ$1,150,000 ($801,320) in June this year from NZ$920,000 last year. Soaring prices and rents have forced families into emergency housing like motels, with about 23,000 individuals and families waiting for public housing. Under pressure Government has launched a raft of measures this year to tax investors and discourage speculators, but these have had only a marginal impact.