More housing information

Sorry, but my inner Krugman has been running wild and I've been spending some time over at Expat Exposed, where quite a debate is raging over whether or not New Zealand Immigration is misleading potential migrants.

One of the users pointed to this section of the NZIS website, on housing in NZ:

Compared with what you probably paid for your current home, you’ll find your currency converted to New Zealand dollars will go a very long way in our real estate market. Owning our own home is something that two-thirds of us have chosen to do and is still affordable for most. While suburban houses still account for 85 percent of house sales, inner-city and semi-rural living are becoming increasingly popular options.

When one compares this to the Quality of Life Report, there are some misleading assertions made there and at least one outright lie. First, the lie: The ethnic group with the highest rate of home ownership are NZ Europeans, and they currently stand at a 59% home ownership rate. Not far short of 2/3, but far enough. However, rates of home ownership among Maori, Pacific Islanders, and Asians are 30%, 22%, and 37%. Home ownership rates for all groups have fallen since 2001.

Another disturbing trend is that between 1996 and 2006, housing ownership has fallen across New Zealand. In 1996, 73% of private dwellings were owned and by 2006 that rate had fallen to a 52%. Accordingly, the number of renters has increased.

I've addressed the exchange rate in previous posts. I won't get into affordability in great detail, but here's some more interesting data from the Quality of Life report: Between 2001 and 2006, median incomes in the 12 big cities increased about 32% and rose 34% for NZ as a whole. During the same period, median housing prices rose 67% and 89% respectively. So housing prices are rising at a rate twice that of income.