Capital Gains Tax

[iceman]

NZ is growing at a moderate rate, while Auckland is growing at a reasonably fast rate. Given population increases in other parts of the world, I'd say we're not really at a point where I'd call it a population explosion.

At the end of the day though, New Zealanders need to get used to apartment living if they want to live within or close to city centers. If they don't want to live in one, there's still plenty of land available throughout the country. People need to adapt.

Well said Zaphod. This is exactly what needs to happen. First home buyers should be looking at good quality, cheap to run apartments. Immigrants should have conditions placed on their Visa that they go to areas of NZ where their experience is needed. Like a medical doctor should go to Reefton if needed there, not Auckland to clog it up more . I just do not think like dibble in post 749 above and in fact think that attitude is the main reason for our silly house prices vs incomes.

[Bjauck]

Well said Zaphod. This is exactly what needs to happen. First home buyers should be looking at good quality, cheap to run apartments. ...

Often suggested by baby boomers who were able to buy stand alone houses with gardens to raise their children. And who remain happy for house price inflation to continue outstrip wage inflation?

[Entrep]

Often suggested by baby boomers who were able to buy stand alone houses with gardens to raise their children.

And/or those who are simply willing to work hard to get what they want

[Bjauck]

And/or those who are simply willing to work hard to get what they want

Fair comment.

However I am not sure if you are suggesting that young of today should expect to work harder than the previous generation to be able to afford smaller and less private accommodation and be grateful they do not have to rent?

[Entrep]

Fair comment.

However I am not sure if you are suggesting that young of today should expect to work harder than the previous generation to be able to afford smaller and less private accommodation and be grateful they do not have to rent?

This is stating the obvious, but the world changes, the older generation had to deal with other things that young people today don't.

People can either start today and work towards a house or sit around complaining and hope that someone else makes things easier for them.

I guess my view is that you can sit around complaining or work on ways to achieve what you want yourself (like buying a cheap property out of Auckland, doing it up, renting it out, etc). Property is all about getting on the ladder (love it or hate it), that's the way it is in a popular country like NZ. That everyone should be entitled to get on the ladder in Auckland just isn't possible.

[Bjauck]

This is stating the obvious, but the world changes, the older generation had to deal with other things that young people today don't.

People can either start today and work towards a house or sit around complaining and hope that someone else makes things easier for them.

I guess my view is that you can sit around complaining or work on ways to achieve what you want yourself (like buying a cheap property out of Auckland, doing it up, renting it out, etc). Property is all about getting on the ladder (love it or hate it), that's the way it is in a popular country like NZ. That everyone should be entitled to get on the ladder in Auckland just isn't possible.

Some generations do have it better than others - the generation that came after war, enjoyed socialised education and medicine, high owner-occupation rates and came before "user pays" and before the looming environmental crisis following unfettered consumption managed to hit a sweet spot?

True we do have to work with how things actually are - The existing tax and investment environment in NZ. However reform is always possible and one person's "complaining" is another person's seeking ways to reform and improve...

It does not mean that it was inevitable that NZ housing would be become so expensive for our income levels. It was never inevitable that investor housing would become the de facto pension scheme for so many - making it more difficult to get that toe-hold on "the owner-occupier ladder."

[iceman]

Often suggested by baby boomers who were able to buy stand alone houses with gardens to raise their children. And who remain happy for house price inflation to continue outstrip wage inflation?

Herald reports today (behind paywall) that NZ is in a townhouse and apartment building boom in Auckland as this has now become the favoured for young buyers.
This comment sums it up: "We've created a situation where people want to get into a new house or apartment and they don't want to have any maintenance and they want double glazing and insulation - they want the best of everything," he said.

So your baby boomer argument may be a bit off the mark. FYI, my first home was in an apartment building some 35 years ago and it worked well for me back then.

[artemis]

There may be a boom, but until there are crews on the ground it is just a boom in approvals. I do think terrace and townhouse developments will do OK, but large apartment developments not so much. The latter provide mostly small less expensive places, especially as rentals, but will be cancelled if too difficult to sell off the plans.

Couple of years back Colliers reported that 49 consented apartment developments in Auckland were cancelled, for various reasons.

[Bjauck]

Herald reports today (behind paywall) that NZ is in a townhouse and apartment building boom in Auckland as this has now become the favoured for young buyers.
This comment sums it up: "We've created a situation where people want to get into a new house or apartment and they don't want to have any maintenance and they want double glazing and insulation - they want the best of everything," he said.

So your baby boomer argument may be a bit off the mark. FYI, my first home was in an apartment building some 35 years ago and it worked well for me back then.

Getting a toe-hold for a first home buyer in the lowest quartile of the Auckland housing market would probably see little left over for renovation or maintenance? Plus with both people in a couple working long hours, just how much time would there be for work around the house? Especially with wood burners being phased out owing to trying to preserve the ravaged environment, surely double glazing and insulation are basic necessities? Also the average age of the first home buyer has been creeping up as the deposit needed increases at a rate faster than the increase in incomes.

I don't see how it negates my boomer point.

[iceman]

It is difficult for FHB to get their deposit together but servicing the mortgage is not that hard and certainly no more difficult than in the past.
This is copied from an article written by Ashley Church on One Roof on 29 August this year:
“There’s the fact that it actually costs less to service a mortgage, today, than it did in the mid-80s when the cost reached an eye-watering 52 percent of average household income – the highest level it has reached in the modern era. Today it sits at around 37 percent of the average household income despite the fact that median house prices have increased dramatically, which means that there is still significant capacity to service additional house price growth within the average household budget.”