Much of the early focus has been on the high level of migration to New Zealand pushing up the value of housing in Auckland. Latterly, house prices in regional areas have increased because people are deciding Auckland is too expensive in which to do more than exist.
In the background, the skill shortage in key industries south of the Waitaki River has caused great concern for employers.
In Queenstown, construction and hospitality workers are in short supply. The supply is likely to get tighter because of changes earlier outlined by Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse. The Government did not seem to understand that one of New Zealand's top export earners at any one time, tourism, was always going to struggle if operators could not rely on young people to work in hotels, bars and restaurants.
It is not a difficult proposition to understand.
Construction in places like Christchurch, Kaikoura, Auckland and the Bay of Plenty is always going to attract attention from any Government seeking to retain power because the votes are in the larger centres and in fixing up natural disasters, like earthquakes.
But in the South, tourism infrastructure is creaking as Queenstown Airport reaches new highs for passenger movements.
The Otago Chamber of Commerce and the Otago-Southland Employers Association have long bemoaned the lack of skilled workers in the region. There has been some movement in the IT and education sectors but there remains a gap between work available and the skills needed to complete projects.
Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Paul Goldsmith has made a tentative start to addressing an urgent problem. Sadly, his plans do not go far enough or quickly enough. Mr Goldsmith is talking about a consultation process stretching into next year when the Productivity Commission, set up by the Government, has already widely consulted with industry and education providers.
However, Mr Goldsmith acknowledges one of the most important barriers - entrenched attitudes among parents, educators and the community at large steering bright and enterprising young people away from a career in the trades and technical areas.
These attitudes start at high school level when pupils are gently pushed towards jobs which need a university education. There are high-paying jobs in trades which can mean training and qualifications for young people without them ending up with a burdensome student loan.
There are huge opportunities for great careers in trades in New Zealand. The Government says it is willing to put the money in but it needs support from parents, careers advisers, educators and the community.
Trade professionals are essential for building the houses and roads the country needs, as well as the rest of the infrastructure in which the country is investing.
Politicians will dither on this issue, claiming high numbers of work visas being issued are keeping young people out of jobs in New Zealand. The truth is we do not have enough trained and skilled young people to fill the available construction and hospitality jobs on offer.
This situation has been building to a peak since the Christchurch earthquakes, yet nothing pragmatic has been done in the past nine years to address a problem being identified by industry leaders during the same period.
Platitudes being issued just weeks before an election are not going to solve anything. Some young people have been badly served by the education system. They, and the industries desperate for their services, are being made to suffer longer than necessary.
