Ryan Bridge: The real reason Kiwis are crossing the Tasman

What's the point in us having more affordable property prices for first home buyers if young workers are jetting off to Australia in search of a better tomorrow? 

There's a perverse logic to this, but across the Tasman right now, where our flying Kiwis are headed, they're experiencing something of a property boom. 

It's the opposite of the stagnant or falling prices we're seeing here, where homes in most regions are now considered, technically at least, affordable. 

In Sydney the median prices of a new pad is predicted to increase 7% this year to $2.1m NZD by June 2026. 

If you want to be a Melbourne hipster, prices will be 6% higher in a year to $1.2m.

They've not got a problem which we know all too well - prices are squeezing out first home buyers. 

You can't get on the ladder for love nor money, look at the new loans from banks. 

Landlords: 200k new loans over the year - that's the most since 2022. First home mortgages, they're down to $116k.

Because they're cutting interest rates, houses are more affordable for those with equity - i.e. existing homeowners and landlords. 

Typically, this is seen as a problem - you want people to have a stake in their country and the best way to do that is owning a piece of it. 

But property is inextricably linked to the success of our economy, falling and flat house prices here are not actually a great news story. 

The wealth effect of the biggest asset most of us own informs our spending habits. When we feel richer, we go swipe the credit card. When we don't, we don't. 

So the question is: is it better to have affordable homes in a country in which young people can't find a job, or are you better off in a country where homes are less affordable but wages are higher and the economy's stronger? 

The answer lies in the number of Kiwis who're voting with their feet and buggering off across the Tasman. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Question, what's the point in us having more affordable property
prices for your first home buyer If young workers are
jetting off to Australia in search of a better tomorrow,
there's a bit of a perverse logic to this. But
across the Tasman right now they're experiencing something of a
property boom. It's the opposite of the stagnant or falling
prices that we're seeing here in New Zealand, where homes

(00:20):
of most regions are actually now considered technically actually considered affordable.
In Sydney, the median price of a new pad will
jump seven percent this year through to June to two
point one million New Zealand dollars. If you want to
be a Melbourne hipster, prices will rise six percent there
in the year to June one point two million dollars

(00:43):
the median. They've got a problem now, which we know
all too well. Prices are squeezing out first home buyers there.
You can't get on the ladder for love nor money.
Look at new loans from banks landlords two hundred thousand
new loans over the year. That's the most since twenty
twenty two. First home mortgages they're down to one hundred

(01:05):
and sixteen thousand because they're cutting interest rates, their houses
are money is becoming more affordable for those with equity,
your existing homeowners, all your landlords. Typically this is seen
as a problem. You want people to have a stake
in their country and the best way to do that
is owning a piece of it. But property is inextricably

(01:25):
linked to the success of our economy here in New Zealand.
Falling and flat house prices here are not actually a
great news story, are they. The wealth effect of the
biggest asset that most of us own informs our spending habits.
When we feel richer, we go swipe the credit card.
When we don't, we don't. So the question is, are

(01:46):
you better off having affordable homes and a country which
young people can't find a job, or are you better
off in a country where homes are less affordable but
wages are higher and the economy is stronger. The answer
lies in the number of Kiwis who are voting with
their feet and buggering off across the Tasman. For more

(02:07):
from early edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen live to News
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