New Zealanders wealth still heavily tied to property values

Media Release

7 June 2011

New Zealanders wealth still heavily tied to property values

Research from Pacific Micromarketing and its population segmentation system, Mosaic(tm) New Zealand, shows the country is becoming increasingly egalitarian with a growing middle class, less wealth at the top and more opportunities for people in lower sectors to improve their lot.

The findings reveal a significant shift in New Zealand's demographic profile since Pacific Micromarketing New Zealand started geo-demographic profiling and shows the impact of the economic recession, global financial crisis and Government policy.

The foundation of the assessment by Mosaic(tm) draws on the inherent link between individuals and where they live, and classifies 1.6 million households into 1 of 42 types. The analysis uses multiple data sources, including housing valuation data from PropertyIQ, attitudinal market research from Roy Morgan, and NZ Census information. The combination gives the most comprehensive available insight into New Zealand's society.

Tony Bozzard, Manager - Pacific Micromarketing New Zealand, said the new insights are the result of analysis over the last three years and counters many claims New Zealand is becoming increasingly socially divided:

"Our analysis and insight show households are clustering in the middle sectors of society with many of the wealthy losing out over the last few years.

"There's been a decrease in the most 'affluent and wealthy' career professional city dwelling households from 5.6 per cent of the total households in 2008 to 3.7 per cent in 2011. Also, young family and blue collar households have both increased by 2 per cent. Households in the poorest category have become more concentrated in the Maori and Pacific Island ethnicities.

"But overall our girth is growing in the middle classes as a result of recent events and is heavily tied to the decrease in property values," he said.

Mosaic(tm) NZ is the most comprehensive geo-demographic profiling tool in the country and assists business and public organisations to understand New Zealand society and consumers. It is the only tool of its kind to give household level information overlaid with consumer attitudes. Mosaic(tm) NZ is licensed to and operated by PMP New Zealand, the country's largest commercial printing and multi-channel marketing company.

Tony Bozzard, of Pacific Micromarketing gave an insight on Mosaic's relevance to New Zealand:

"As a country of 4.5m people Mosaic(tm) gives a full and accurate picture of our society and provides organisations with the deepest look into how we live, our attitudes and where we fit in New Zealand society. With information driving commercial and policy decisions it is vital for segmentation to be accurate. For the economy this assists business to be more targeted and effective, and for the country as a whole it helps policy to be more relevant."

"As a tool for business and government, Mosaic is used across the world including a number of Governments such as in the United Kingdom where it provides input into policy decisions," he said.

In New Zealand Mosaic's depth of insight means it is used by the majority of banks, insurance and telecommunication companies when communicating with customers.

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