'We have to try everything we can' - Government 'exploring all the options' to ease housing costs for first-home buyers

May 15, 2018

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said they are looking at if some equity could be taken on by a third party.

The government is exploring schemes to ease pressure on first home buyers, with ideas such as shared equity to give a helping hand into the housing market. 

On RNZ's Morning Report today, Ms Ardern was asked why Labour's affordable home price point went up by $50,000 to $650,000 from Labour's election promise. 

"In the time we did the modelling for price points, which was two years ago, in that time building costs have risen by five per cent and the cost of land has risen as well."

She said it was still "significantly lower" than market rate in places such as Auckland. 

When asked by Guyon Espiner if the deposit for a $650,000 home was realistic for a Kiwi family, Ms Ardern said shared equity and ways to break down barriers for the first home buyer were being looked at, as well as speaking to the banking community. 

She reiterated this, telling media the government have "been exploring the options available there, whether or not you have some upfront equity taken on by a third party to ease some of the upfront costs for that first home buyer ". 

When asked if that third party would be the government, Ms Ardern again said they were "exploring all the options". 

"We are looking at shared equity, and other options, to try and make it as accessible as possible but the alternative is to do nothing and we’re not accepting that.

"We are… trying to do everything we can to even break some of the barriers that exist for deposits by looking at a range of different options to support those first home buyers". 

"We have to try everything we can."

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