Central housing costliest

The mayoral task force will meet for the first time next week and is charged with finding solutions to the growing unaffordability of houses to first-home buyers and families in the Central Otago Lakes region. Photo: ODT
The mayoral task force will meet for the first time next week and is charged with finding solutions to the growing unaffordability of houses to first-home buyers and families in the Central Otago Lakes region. Photo: ODT

Queenstown's mayor has formed a task force to tackle housing affordability as the Central Otago Lakes region officially overtook Auckland to become the least affordable region for housing in the country.

Jim Boult.
Jim Boult.

The mayoral task force will meet for the first time next week and is charged with finding solutions to the growing unaffordability of houses to first-home buyers and families in the district.

Research released yesterday showed the Central Otago Lakes region had usurped Auckland’s unenviable crown as the least affordable region for housing in New Zealand.

Massey University’s Home Affordability Report showed while housing affordability in New Zealand had improved during the December to February quarter, unaffordability continued to grow in Central Otago Lakes.

The region  was now 68% less affordable than the rest of the country, surpassing Auckland at 55%. The median house price is now almost 14 times the median annual wage.

Within the region, Queenstown  has the highest  average value property at more than $1 million - a figure it reached year.

Queenstown Mayor Jim Boult said the  result was unfortunately unsurprising but concerning.

"I have witnessed house prices going up steadily," he said last night.

"That’s driven by demand, both by people living here and investors buying houses to rent out.

"What worries me is the affordability of housing for families wanting to live in our district.

"It becomes more and more difficult, and it’s a challenge for employers trying to get people to come and work here."

In response to the crisis, he had formed a mayoral task force, to investigate ways to address the issue.

Its first meeting would be held on Monday, Mr Boult said.

"I want to have the meeting of the task force, which has a lot of participants from a lot of sectors, and see what comes from that," he said.

The area’s affordability was also on the Government’s radar; the Queenstown Lakes Housing Accord was  agreed with the council in 2014. The first Special Housing Area under the accord was given the go-ahead in mid 2015.

Mr Boult said he was supportive of the measures, but they would not be enough on their own to improve affordability if those houses were then bought up by investors.

timothy.brown@odt.co.nz

Comments

possibly have a look at raising incomes, that is half of the formula used to calculate affordability

Great place to settle the overseas people bring in 50.000

A bit late in the day, with housing prices in Auckland starting to drop and foreign investors being kept out of the market, Queenstown will follow suit. We'll see a lot of properties go on the market in the next year.

 

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