National’s first-home policy pumps demand, not supply

Responding to National’s plan to expand access to 5 percent deposit First Home Loans, Taxpayers’ Union Policy Analyst Austin Ellingham-Banks said:

“National has spent years correctly arguing that New Zealand’s housing crisis is a supply problem. So why is it now trying to fix it by pumping up demand when first-home buyers are already taking their highest montlhy share of the market in more than 20 years?"

“If the governments own low-deposit lending rules are shutting out otherwise creditworthy buyers, the answer is to make the case for loosening those rules, not use taxpayer backing to sidestep them and shift the risk."

“More Kiwis will own homes when more homes get built. National should stick to the supply-side reforms that make housing cheaper, not subsidise demand.”