Housing affordability in Aotearoa New Zealand: The importance of urban land supply, interest rates, and tax

Speech delivered by Dominick Stephens, Deputy Secretary and Chief Economic Advisor, at the Economic Policy Centre Workshop on Housing Affordability, University of Auckland Business School, 9 September 2022

Housing prices are a key issue for the wellbeing of New Zealanders. The key cause of rising house prices in New Zealand over the past twenty years has been a combination of restricted urban land supply,  a global decline in interest rates, and the tax system. Dominick Stephens’ speech discusses the Treasury’s views on the implications for policy.