The houses we want are expensive

7 February 2013

The houses we want are expensive

The OECD has just released its latest Better life index, which shows that although the country is doing “exceptionally well” in overall wellbeing , New Zealand is slightly below average for disposable incomes and the second highest country for housing expenditure as a percentage of gross disposable income. This can be interpreted that housing costs are too high in New Zealand, or it could equally be interpreted that our disposable incomes are too low.

“It is interesting to note that if New Zealand’s disposable income was equal to the OECD average, then our spending on housing would be about the OECD average as well” says NZ Property Investors’ Federation President Andrew King.

“The OECD results come as no surprise really. Our productivity rates are low and we like to live in large houses with plenty of outdoor space. The cost of building materials and consent fees are also higher in New Zealand than in other countries, so of course our housing expenses are higher than in other countries”.

In terms of overall wellbeing, New Zealand was among the best performing countries. This would indicate that we are happy to spend more on housing.

The NZ Property Investors’ Federation can see that housing expenditure would be reduced by addressing some of the building material and consent costs. However unless more of us are happy with smaller properties then we need to earn more to reduce the percentage of our incomes that these houses cost.

ENDS

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