NZ first home buyers shut out as investors take over

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s 2017 election promise to ‘fix’ the nation’s housing affordability crisis has taken another hit, with investors increasingly crowding-out first home buyers (FHB).

The evidence is provided in CoreLogic’s latest update, which shows that the share of purchases by investors surged to a record high 30% in January, whereas FHB’s share of purchases plummeted to 22% – the lowest level since early 2018:

There is light at the end of the tunnel, however, with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s (RBNZ) new loan-to-value ratio (LVR) restrictions scheduled to come in next month:

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.