Housing in Auckland is the most unaffordable it has ever been, new research shows.
A development in Auckland's Tamaki. Photo: RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson
Massey University's latest Home Affordability Report shows the region is 59 percent less affordable than the rest of the country.
Report author Susan Flint-Hartle said affordability in Auckland would only get worse, and that the deterioration would happen at a faster rate than it had for the past two quarters.
Dr Flint-Hartle said auctions in Auckland were driving up prices.
"I don't think I'm alone in thinking that. A lot of people in the public will feel the same.
"I feel that the way real estate agents have inserted themselves as middle men in the buying and selling process has had some effect on price escalation."
Dr Flint-Hartle said Southland was the most affordable region to buy a home.