Housing affordability improves
Massey University's latest Home Affordability Report shows the national affordability index improved by a small 0.8% in the third quarter and 9.7% on an annual basis, slightly down on the previous year's growth of 11.1%.
Housing affordability is calculated by comparing the affordability drivers, which are household income, median dwelling price and mortgage interest rates.
All three remained relatively subdued in the third quarter of this year, with the average weekly wage increasing $6.15 over the quarter, the median house price remained static at $350,000 and there was a 0.01% decrease in the average monthly mortgage interest rate to 6.59%.
"The housing market is currently characterised by very low turnover rates, expectations that mortgage interest rates will not increase very much in the short term and continuing low wage growth while the economy gradually recovers from the recession and the effects of the Canterbury earthquake," the report says.
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