Many, if not most of my generation seem resigned to renting.
With house prices about five times the average annual household income, and a minimum 20 per cent deposit necessary to even secure a mortgage, home ownership seems out of reach outside of a committed relationship, an unexpected windfall or a parental hand-out.
Even then, many of the homes within our financial reach are outside of New Zealand’s main centres – and a move to the provinces is out of the question for many career-oriented twenty- and thirty-somethings.
This year’s census found that, though there are more dwellings, a lower proportion of households own their own homes. The rate of home ownership fell to just under 65 per cent, compared with almost 67 per cent at the 2006 census.
But just as we accept the fact that we’re a generation of tenants, it’s understood that it’s no one’s first choice: that if we could afford our own home, we’d have gone unconditional before you could say “picket fence”.
But as economist Shambueel Eaqub pointed out, this compulsion to own homes, where renting is a second-rate alternative necessitated by circumstance, isn’t a global phenomenon. In many parts of Europe, 10 year leases for residential property are the norm.
It’s perfectly understandable to want to own a home of your own, but before we get hung up on the hows, let’s consider the why.
For me, the answer is simple. As much as I appreciate the flexibility of renting, barriers to home ownership are also barriers to dog ownership.
This week on The Wireless, we ask the questions: just how easy is it to buy your first home? And is it something we should even be aspiring to?