David Cunningham: Squirrel Mortgages CEO on the Annual State of Home Ownership Index

There are doubts the proportion of homeowners in New Zealand will grow significantly anytime soon. 

Kiwibank's Annual State of Home Ownership Index finds 57% of non-owners feel locked out of the market, improving by 6%. 

60% still find cost of living the biggest obstacle to owning a house. 

Squirrel Mortgages Chief Executive David Cunningham told Ryan Bridge that problem's always existed, adding that home ownership typically stays around 65%. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
More renters reckon they have a shot at buying a
home of their own. Keyibank's latest housing report out this morning,
fifty seven of non owners feel lockdown of the market,
which still sounds bad, but actually an improvement of six
percent on last year. The key we property dream seems
to be alive and well. David Cunningham is with us
Chief Squirrel at Squirrel Mortgages. David good morning, h Ryan

(00:21):
good Good more that more renters think it's possible.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Well, yeah, I think we've got this Goldielocks condition really
for first home bars. Interest rates are down, so that
makes renters think it's better. You know, rents have come
down a little bit, so maybe they're able to save
a bit more if they're getting the benefit of the
lower rent. You know, your key with Saber balance has
gone up quite a bit, so your deposits getting easier.
There's heaps of choice out there, properly price to fall

(00:47):
and the heats of choice and there's not a lot
of competition, so we call it a goldilocks time for
first time buys. It's been that way for a year
and it's you know, it looks like at least another
year of that where there's not a lot of competition
first time buy so I'm not surprised to see more
people saying that it's possible. But there is this cohort
of New Zealanders for whom it's sort of the dream

(01:08):
that's probably not going to happen, you know, generally related
to much lower income.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
Yes, but that that problem has always existed, hasn't it. Well,
I mean it's certainly gotten worse over the last decade
or two, but it's a.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
That's right, Yeah, yeah, that's right. I mean there's always
been about sixty five percent home ownership in New Zealander.
You know, it's going up and down a little bit
over time, but it's cenerally about two thirds of New
Zealanders get to own their own home, and it's been
that way for fifty seventy five years.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
To be honest, what do you say, because you're obviously
it's SCOREL mortgage dealing with a lot of first home buyers,
a lot of home buyers. This textas says Ryan, No,
you're wrong. About half of under thirties in this country
will never own a house. The bird is flowing. Talking
it up won't help them. I'm afraid how much of
this do you think just personally comes down to like attitude.
I know that sounds almost like gas lighting, because some

(01:57):
people can't afford to buy a house that but for
others they can, they just don't think they can.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yeah, look to the honest. I respect you know what
your listeners said, But to be honest, it is easier
now than it was. When I bought my house in
nineteen ninety, I paid one hundred and fifty thousand. I
had saved fifteen thousand, which was at that time a
lot of money. The bank of Mom and dad, good
old banker. Mom and Dad chipped in fifteen thousand, and
my payments were seven hundred bucks a week. Today that

(02:29):
would be two thousand, two hundred bucks. But today that
same average mortgage seven hundred thousand dollar house one hundred
and forty thousand dollars mortgage is the equivalent is a
one thousand and four to thirty six. So you know,
it's actually significantly cheaper now than it has been for
a long Gertney compared to back then. So you know,
us old guys had it tough. You know, you could say,
but in reality, if you've got the motivation, you've got kiwisaver,

(02:53):
which has been an absolute game changer almost every first term.
By it uses kiwisaver, they wouldraw forty three thousand dollars
per person. Last year there were forty thousand people that
did that, so it's actually been the enabler. So it
is within the reach of more people, perhaps than so
a few years ago.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
David, appreciate your time this morning, David Cunningham from Squirrel Mortgages.
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