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It was difficult not to be underwhelmed after reading the government and Auckland Council’s Housing Accord released a couple of weeks ago. It was a manual of what has failed in almost every housing market in the world and showed one common problem: everyone agrees to build more houses and sets an arbitrary target without following through. Read more
Most New Zealanders probably know little about Switzerland. Until this week, my own knowledge certainly didn’t extend far beyond cheese, watches, and knives. Read more
To those of us in the Anglo world, Germany can seem an odd place. Corduroy suits are in vogue and pretty news presenters look like they have quickly thrown on their boyfriend’s shirt after a night of passion. Read more
I am currently on a research trip studying local government and housing affordability in different jurisdictions around the world. This week, I have been in and around London conducting interviews and meetings. Read more
Here’s a radical idea: Let’s think of houses as places where people live. Housing affordability is the big political issue of 2013. Read more
Housing is back in the papers again after the release of the ninth annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey. House prices in Auckland have topped their 2007 peak, which sparked comment from Minister of Finance, Bill English, who said if councils didn’t approve more land for development, power to do so might be relocated closer to the Beehive. Read more
The announcement of ‘KiwiBuild’ by Labour leader David Shearer was certainly bold. Under Labour, for the next decade the government will build 10,000 homes every year, for less than $600,000 each. Read more
With the affordability of housing currently circulating the walls of parliament, it seems timely to ask, why are houses in New Zealand so expensive? Luke Malpass, Research Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative, who is currently conducting significant and intensive research in this area, will be presenting a talk to try and explain why housing is so costly. Read more
The policy problem of ‘affordable housing’ is all the rage. But aside from a vague sense that housing is too expensive, what does the term actually mean? Read more
When political announcements consist of motherhood statements that nobody could possibly disagree with, they often make little sense. Or at least they don’t tell us anything new. Read more