Trump and the NZ housing bubble
The bright orange trigger for a sharp rise in mortgage interest rates may have just arrived. Our over-indebted home owners are highly vulnerable.
Social issues
housing
There is no housing crisis
Paula Bennett has announced a new spend of $300 million to address the non existing housing crisis. But the announcement appears to be little more than a refinancing of Housing Corp and an admission that the Government should have stopped taking Housing Corp dividends years ago.
Rheumatic fever – treat the cause
Millions of dollars are being poured into reducing rheumatic fever in NZ. However rates of the disease in Auckland are at least double the target level – and rising.
Meth and housing
Why has Housing NZ ignored repeated advice and misused meth tests to evict tenants? RNZ: “Drug Foundation executive director Ross Bell said Housing New Zealand had caused a huge amount of harm by knowingly misusing the guidelines.”
Tax-cuts or… Housing
The government is proud of their surplus, which at 0.7% of GDP isn’t quite as dramatic as the 9% of GDP deficit they […]
One Billion Dollars
Treasury papers just released show National’s Housing Infrastructure Fund to be everything you expected it to be: a quickly cobbled together headline.
Housing Corp is running out of money
Housing Corporation is forecast to run out of money by next February if urgent action is not taken.
The main risk to New Zealand according to John Key
John Key is pretty good at providing media commentary on what problems New Zealand faces. But is he any good at addressing those problems?
Phil Twyford: the Housing Crisis
Phil Twyford argues housing will be the defining challenge for the next Labour-led Government, and sets out Labour’s reform agenda.
Goff on foreign buyers; and Vote!
Ban them / tax them, but lets reduce demand. And make sure you get your vote in for local elections!
Stand Up for Housing: Protest today in Aotea Square
Young people, union members, and other Aucklanders will meet in Aotea Square today to make some noise about the devastating Auckland housing crisis. Stand Up Youth Union Movement and Unions Auckland are hosting the Monopoly-themed event, which will highlight the damaging effects of the crisis and call on local and central government to do a lot more to fix the housing market.
Paula Bennett improves supply of housing, or does she?
National’s latest plan to do something about the housing crisis is to buy a Motel and kick families who stay there out on the street.
We’re Number 1!
Already number 4 for housing unaffordability, we’re now number 1 for house price rises!
‘Living Rent’ and other UK stories
A Tory think tank proposes a massive house-building plan, with a ‘Living Rent’ to make it affordable; and Nick Clegg lifts the lid on the Tories in the last government.
#ParkUpForGovernment
Despite the large number of people with terrible stories about homelessness to the Labour/Greens/Maori Homelessness Inquiry, this Government of Housing Inaction still thinks the problem should be ignored and the Inquiry ‘not needed’.
Government seeking to remove property buy back rights under urgency
Nick Smith has introduced a bill into Parliament which he wants to be passed under urgency without select committee oversight. The bill takes away the right of any prior owner of land taken under the Public Works Act to have housing land offered back to them. To do this under urgency is banana republic stuff.
The Million Dollar Minister
No denying the housing crisis now, Nick.
Key: Crisis? What me worry?
John Key is defending his handling of Auckland’s housing crisis on the grounds that Auckland’s prices have only risen as much under him as they did under Labour.
So the prices that he said were a crisis in 2007, have risen by as much again, and thus… no problem?
Land banking – National gives up on housing crisis
As the average Auckland house price hits $1 Million, the Special Housing Areas fail, and Real Estate agents openly promote land banking, what does National do? Why, they give up, of course.
Toby Morris: TA’s Story
Illustrator and commentator Toby Morris has animated TA’s story: “What do you want most in the world,” John Campbell asks TA, who has been living in a van with her family since February. “A library.”
Nick Smith commits to raising average wage to $250,000
Great news everyone! On The Nation this morning Nick Smith committed to raising average NZ wage to $250,000!
The Spinoff: Housing crisis costing Nats
The Spinoff: “Lose the top of your party vote in Auckland, with Labour making ground, and the picture for the general election in 2017 looks like, walks like and quacks like a crisis.”
Chart of the day: The “building boom”
Homeless crisis – Nats in full denial
New research on homelessness from Otago University sheds light on the depth and breadth of the problem. Naturally Paula Bennett says she doesn’t believe it, and that she won’t read it. Because of course.
Foreign buyers estimated at 29%
Most of the media has reported the Government’s “3%” spin on the extent of residential property purchases in NZ going to foreign buyers pretty uncritically. There have been honourable exceptions, and yesterday property editor Anne Gibson in The Herald joined them.
Dr Kate Amore on Homelessness
Dr Kate Amore and Rev Tric Malcolm will discuss this issue on Friday 26th August at 5:30pm at Connolly Hall, Wellington. Amore’s research released today shows “As the housing market gets tighter, single people have more flexibility and potentially more options open to them, whereas families with children don’t. People [landlords] are less likely to want them, and they have more requirements of housing,” she said. All welcome.
Fleeing Auckland
Spinoff: “The Spinoff/SSI survey reveals the extraordinary impact of housing crisis on residents of New Zealand’s biggest city – and the extent to which Aucklanders blame foreign speculation.”
Andrew Little on housing
Andrew Little: “John Key will give you all the excuses you can stomach for his failure to stabilise house prices and boost incomes but the truth is clear: if we want to change the path we’re on, we need to change the government.”
The cross-party inquiry into homelessness is under way
After National blocked a proposed official inquiry into homelessness, Labour, The Greens and The Maori Party went ahead with their own. It will no doubt come up with useful recommendations. But to see them implemented we will need to change the government.
Tents warehouses and driveways
Tents and warehouses have been considered as emergency housing. Working people sleeping in cars are looking for driveways to rent. Say – has anyone seen John Key lately?
Affordable housing fail – we can’t rely on the private sector
To the complete surprise of no one, private sector developers have largely waited out the “affordable houses” requirement in the special housing areas. Another National failure.
New Zealand’s most shameful secret: ‘We have normalised child poverty’
Fuck the whole “Brighter Future” New Zealand.
The housing crisis and the diseases of poverty
Rheumatic fever is on the rise again. It is likely that other diseases of poverty are also or will also increase as the housing crisis drags on under National.
Green Party Bill to improve the rights of renters
It’s time to stop viewing renting as second best, and put some decent laws in place to ensure everyone has the security of a home. The Green Party’s Member’s Bill aims to “strengthen tenants’ rights and promote secure, long-term tenancies.”
Labour’s Kiwibuild is popular
More good news for the political left in the fine print of yesterday’s Newshub-Reid Research poll.
NRT: Calling bullshit on “P-contamination”
I/S at No Right Turn writes on meth testing, false positives, and Housing NZ.