REINZ Welcomes Announcement On Māori Housing Solutions In Today’s Budget

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) welcomes the announcement in today’s Budget that $380 million has been allocated to Māori housing solutions, including building new housing stock and repairing existing stock.

Wendy Alexander, Acting Chief Executive at REINZ says: “It is great to see an emphasis on Māori housing solutions in the 2021 Budget, focusing on building new houses in areas with high rates of Māori housing deprivation, repairs for existing housing and increasing capacity and capability for iwi, hapū and other Māori housing providers.

“Māori appear to be underrepresented in home ownership in New Zealand, with Stats NZ outlining late last year that Māori are less likely to own their home or to hold it in a family trust than any other ethnic group, with home ownership rates in 2018 at 31% for Māori, whereas homeownership rates for the total population was at 52%,” continues Alexander.

“In addition to the specific focus on support for Māori housing solutions in today’s Budget, $350 million from the previously announced $3.8 billion Housing Acceleration Fund has been ring-fenced to go directly towards the construction of more homes for Māori. This is welcome news, as house prices have risen by 19.1% in the past 12 months, which has made it difficult for a significant portion of New Zealanders to be able to get onto the property ladder because prices are rising at a faster rate than people’s savings,” she concludes.

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