1 Introduction
Housing is an important sector of the economy. As such there are implications for aggregate investment, interest rates, inflation and economic cycles. At the household level, there are issues of ownership, access, affordability and wealth accumulation. This paper addresses two questions. First, what is the pattern of property ownership and investment among New Zealand households? Second, what role might housing equity play in retirement income and what would that imply for retirement saving?
The first issue is addressed in Section 3, which presents recent results from the Survey of Family, Income and Employment (SOFIE). It covers ownership patterns, gearing, net equity and composition of household portfolios. Comparisons are also made with results from the Household Savings Survey (HSS) and with international evidence. The second question is examined in Sections 4 and 5. This analysis is based on a model of retirement saving and provides a framework to explore implications of housing equity for retirement saving.
