Housing affordability more challenging for renters than homeowners

In the year ended June 2022, 1 in 4 households that were renting were spending more than 40 percent of their disposable income on housing costs, compared with 1 in 5 households that were paying a mortgage, according to figures released by Stats NZ today.

Rents continued to increase at a faster rate than mortgage payments. Over the last 15 years, average weekly rent payments have increased 93.0 percent, compared with a 48.8 percent increase in average weekly mortgage payments.

Average weekly rent payments for the year ended June 2022 were $410.90, compared with $475.40 for average weekly mortgage payments.