Something I was meaning to post yesterday, but got distracted from: Listener editor Joanne Black on The Panel [audio, @23:30] the government's affordable housing and shared equity scheme:
I'm thinking if you own a home there and at the moment its valued at, say, $350,000, then and the government moves in with this subsidised housing, then what happens to the market value of your place that you own? You've had your years of paying off the mortgage, been watching house values increase. If the house nextdoor to you is very similar, but its one of these subsidised ones, what does that do to the price of your house. Is it going to lose value?So, people must be excluded from the kiwi dream of home ownership in order to preserve the relative wealth advantage of those who are already ahead. Or, in short, "screw everybody else, I've got mine". Lovely.
