How the housing crisis affects you

How the housing crisis affects you

Labour says the housing crisis has hit almost every Kiwi, with prices and rents rising across the board.

The party has released an interactive map to show how prices have changed in neighbourhoods around New Zealand.

The party collated data from Statistics New Zealand, Housing New Zealand, the Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment and Quotable Value to produce the map which allows voters to search their local area. 

It provides information on house price increases, home ownership statistics, rent prices and the number of state houses needed - as well as how many houses have no heating.

Labour leader Andrew Little says the housing crisis is affecting 98 percent of New Zealand.

"The housing crisis is making life tougher for most New Zealanders. Skyrocketing house prices are locking a generation out of the Kiwi dream of homeownership and pushing rents up so high, families are being forced to live in cars and garages," he says.

While it could be easy to see this data as just statistics, Mr Little says there are human faces behind them.

"Behind all these figures are families who are paying more and more for a roof over their heads, leaving less and less for food and other essentials for themselves and their kids."

Auckland's housing crisis is clear, but how does it look across the rest of the country? 

While Auckland is home to the highest average house price, it turns out the city doesn't hold the title for biggest increase in prices in the last year - that's spread to its neighbours. 

Southwest Hamilton has the fastest-growing house prices in the country, but those in the Bay of Plenty are facing the sharpest rises in rents. 

How the housing crisis affects you

Houses prices in southwest Hamilton have shot up 29.8 percent in the past year, while rents in the Bay of Plenty have risen 9.5 percent. 

And of course the region with the highest house price is Auckland's eastern suburbs, costing on average $1,432,904. 

In Auckland the average house price is $975,000, up 16.1 percent on last year. Rents are sitting at an average of $509 - a 5.2 percent increase on last year. Home ownership rates have dropped 3.4 percent to 57 percent. 

How the housing crisis affects you

There are more than 25,000 houses that have no heating. 

Two thousand, one hundred and thirty families are waiting for a state house and there are 878 state houses sitting empty. 

Further south in Hamilton, the average house price has shot up 29 percent to $492,000, while rents are up 6.2 percent to an average of $343. The home ownershiprate  in Hamilton is 57 percent - down 2.4 percent. There are 166 families waiting for state houses and 101 are empty, and 1614 houses in the city have no heating. 

How the housing crisis affects you

Over in Tauranga, house prices have risen 23.6 percent, up to an average of $600,000. Rents have increased 10.9 percent to $427. Home ownership is sitting at 65 percent - a fall of 1.8 percent. There are 43 empty state houses, while 180 families wait for one. One thousand, five hundred and forty-five houses in Tauranga have no heating.

How the housing crisis affects you

In the capital the average house price rose to $625,000, up 14.4 percent. The average rent has decreased slightly, down 0.7 percent to $451 a week. Home ownership also fell, to 59 percent - down 1.4 percent, while 2,223 houses don't have any heating. There are 211 families waiting for state houses, with 144 sitting empty. 

How the housing crisis affects you

In Christchurch it's good news for renters - the average rent fell 7.1 percent to $383. But at the same time the average house price went up 3.6 percent to $491,000. Home ownership rates fell 1.8 percent to 65 percent. There are 151 empty state houses, but the number of families needing them is more than double that - 403. Nine hundred and three houses in Christchurch don't have a source of heating. 

How the housing crisis affects you

Over in Queenstown, house prices rose by 25 percent to an average of $899,000. Rents rose sharply too - up 20.2 percent to an average $529 a week. Home ownership rates haven't changed much - they fell just 0.2 percent to 60 percent. And while most homes have heating, there are 81 which don't. There are two empty state houses, but no one on the waitlist.

How the housing crisis affects you

 

And down in Dunedin, the average weekly rent is now $320, up 8.1 percent. Home ownership rates have stayed pretty stagnant at 68 percent, only dropping 0.7 percent. The average house price went up 10.7 percent to $342,000. Three hundred and ninety houses have no heating source. 

How the housing crisis affects you

Seventy-five families need a state house, and there are 75 empty. 

Newshub.