David Shearer – 
Most New Zealanders dream of owning a home.
When I was young, I saved hard for a deposit and bought an old villa. It was cold, with sinking piles and a sloping floor, but I was happy just to be a homeowner.
Today, young people face tough conditions as prices sky-rocket.
I know that I cannot afford a house in the current market.
Aucklanders have seen house prices soar by more than $100,000 on average in the last year alone. The result is that fewer people than ever can afford the Kiwi dream of buying a home.
But for others, housing is considered an investment like buying shares in the New York Stock Exchange.
That behaviour is driving prices up for Kiwi families.
Houses do not exist purely for their investment potential to be traded for higher and higher prices. They are homes. They are places for people to live and raise their families in relative security. This is especially the case in a city with a housing shortage.
No Bourse
I do not agree that overseas investors should be able to treat our houses like a stock exchange, pushing prices out of the reach of the people who live here. Because of them, home ownership in New Zealand has fallen to a 64-year low.
Foreign investment in New Zealand is great in other forms. It can help develop our economy and stimulate the growth we need. But in our housing market, it is only making property more expensive for Kiwis living here.
Labour believes that every resident of New Zealand, whether they have lived here for two years or two generations – deserves the hope of home ownership.
The first obligation of any government is to look after the needs of people resident in this country. Other countries including Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and many others protect their residents’ chances of home-ownership by restricting overseas buyers from purchasing houses as investments.
This simple solution helps keep houses affordable for locals.
Acute shortage
There are many other reasons why houses in Auckland are so unaffordable. Chiefly, there are not enough being built. Housing supply is the biggest issue.
That is why Labour’s policy is to build 10,000 affordable houses a year for the next 10 years. It aims to tackle the lack of property head on.
Sadly, that sort of ambition is absent in this government.
We want to see the next generation of young people, my children and yours, have the hope of working hard and feeling the satisfaction of buying a first home, just as I did.
David Shearer is Member of Parliament elected from Mt Albert Constituency in Auckland and is Labour Party’s Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Consumer Affairs.
