Home Start Grant Worthless

“As predicted, the Home Start grant has become worthless in Auckland just one month after starting in April,” says Affordable Auckland mayoral candidate Stephen Berry. The Home Start Grant provides up to $20,000 in funding to couples wishing to purchase their own home.

The median house price in Auckland was $789,581 at the start of April but has now broken the $800,000 mark one month later. Berry says, “This wipes out half the value of the Home Start Grant for couples while individuals, entitled to a maximum $10,000, are no better off than they were in April.”

“The Home Start grant will do absolutely nothing to help young Aucklanders into their first home because it does nothing to solve the issues of insufficient houses in the Auckland market. In fact it just strengthens demand which accelerates house price hyperinflation.”

Affordable Auckland says the main factor driving house prices is the price of land, which the Productivity Commission estimates to be 60% of the value of a property. This is being worsened by Auckland Councils refusal to abolish the Metropolitan Urban Limit which limits the land area in Auckland that can be used for residential housing.

“No new taxes, regulatory tweaks or assistance programs are going to fix the issue of housing affordability. Auckland Council needs to fix the biggest distortion to the housing market it can and abolish the Metropolitan Urban Limit.

Ends

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