Jacinda Ardern’s Labour party was elected in 2017, and again in 2020, ostensibly because they promised to fix the housing market. They claimed that Kiwibuild was a policy which would build 100,000 homes, or 10,000 each year for ten years. They also claimed that their policies would fix housing affordability and homelessness.
How are they doing after four years in power?
Not so well. Despite their hammering landlords, speculators and investors, house prices just keep on rising. Last month in Auckland the month on month increase was 2.9% and the annual increase was 21.9%:
Auckland house prices remains “stubbornly high”, despite winter and the Government’s crackdown on property investors.
Sale prices by Auckland’s largest agency Barfoot & Thompson were up 2.6 per cent in the last month to make annual rises 21.9 per cent.
The average price paid was $1,143,328, up 2.6 per cent on May and the median price at $1,109,000 was up 3.4 percent, the company said today.
The onset of winter and the new regulations aimed at making home buying less attractive to investors did not dampen the price, or the number of Auckland houses sold in June, it said.
“Normally in June sales numbers start to edge lower, but this year we sold 1243 homes, up 3.8 percent on those for the previous month, and both the average and median prices paid were higher than those for May,” said managing director Peter Thompson.
NZ Herald
Given you can barely get 1% on your money in the banks on deposit, a 21% increase is not to be sniffed at, even with the draconian quasi capital gains tax…that was supposed to arrest property value rises.
Meanwhile another promise from Jacinda Ardern just keeps on worsening despite all the concerned looks, expressions of disappointment and legislative hoops Labour has put in place to solve the homelessness crisis:
A Northland District Health Board report released this week shows the homeless population of Whangarei increased from 21 people to 293, between 2018 and 2020.
These people are mostly living in vehicles or around bridges and toilets.
The report said it was “unlikely there is sufficient transitional housing in Northland to meet the need“.
It also said “a very high proportion” of homeless were Maori and that was “reinforcing and extending existing inequities”.
Radio NZ
Far from reducing homelessness, Jacinda Ardern’s government has overseen a 1,300% increase in people living in cars or under bridges in Whangarei. It is highly likely that the same is happening in other cities around the country.
We know the situation is getting exponentially worse too:
Remember it was this government that said it would abolish homelessness. The Priority A waiting list for social housing has increased 432% since they took office.
Who knew that adding massive compliance costs onto landlords, jimmying the tenancy rules to put the tenants in the box seat and removing tax benefits from owning investment properties would see hordes of landlords quit the market and take the fast cash from ever-increasing house prices, further exacerbating the housing crisis.
Blind Freddy could see this coming, but not the rank amateurs and student politicians in the Beehive.
One thing for sure; at the next election, when Jacinda Ardern stands there and delivers massive promises, she should be drowned out by howls of derisive laughter from everyone.
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