26ththJan Sept--32rdndFeb Oct 2014 2017 27
FIRST ON THE STREET
No No 434 619
LAKES WEEKLY BULLETIN
1 J 2 IN O 4 SI BS D E
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Thank goodness the election is over and we’re safe from false promises, the blame game, grandiose claims and mud-slinging for another few years. Now is (hopefully) the time we can have a little less talk and a bit more action on our key issues; like the New Zealand housing crisis. It’s obvious we have a broken system and Queenstowners can relate to that. We all seem to be getting squeezed out by someone slightly richer. It’s called the ripple effect. The ripple effect is when super-rich investors purchase or build top-end properties, increasing land and housing values and displacing the rich. The rich buy a house of lesser value (which now costs more, because values have gone up). The rich squeeze out the not-so-rich and the ripple moves outward until it reaches economically disadvantaged people, who end up moving out of town or into their cars. The injection of cash the super-rich Kiwis and foreigners bring is all well and good – if it benefits the community. But, in our market-driven economy, this isn’t something the current or previous government feels inclined to measure or track. Countries experiencing similar housing issues, like Canada, have started tracking the economic benefits foreign super-rich investors bring to a community and the results are surprising. Typically, these rich investors declare lower incomes than refugees. Yep, beyond buying a house, that injection of cash is staying in the investor’s home country and isn’t benefiting this community. It’s simply a sugar rush for the real estate and building industries.
The new Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker with partner Penny Tipu and National’s Clutha-Southland president Mark Wilson at the National Party HQ at Lone Star on Saturday.
(Photo: Jodi Walters)
As the value of Queenstown property has shot up, surrounding areas like Cromwell have become more valuable and not-so-rich Queenstowners have moved in. Poorer families from Cromwell are being forced out completely. I recently spoke to a resident of sleepy Alexandra, who claimed he’d seen a sharp increase in families from Cromwell renting relatively cheap properties there. There hasn’t been an increase in jobs or social facilities in Alexandra to coincide with the increase in people. This broken system is pushing its problems around and making them worse as it does so. Another issue is that on the surface, everything looks great. People are building and flipping houses, making a good profit as they do so. The New Zealand market encourages this and the economy looks like it’s doing great – but we’re all being pushed into worse living conditions for a higher price. Just look back at the house your parents bought in the 60s – back then, a brand new home was affordable, with only a 5% deposit required. Now, wages are up by 59%, but housing costs are up 280%.
Phở /Fuh/
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Community is supposed to be about living together in the same place and point of time. But as housing costs vs wages become imbalanced and homes become about profit margins instead of the centre point of family life, we’ll soon end up living in a dystopian socio-economic band instead of a real community. After all the hot air and lip service of the election campaigns, let’s hope the new government finds the gumption to tackle the issue.
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