The article neglected to say about Auckland that it's a huge overpriced real estate market. And the bubble doesn't look like popping because it's propped up by massive immigration from Asia, previously Korea and Taiwan, but now especially mainland China. There's always more international students who'll rent the apartments and immigrants who'll buy the houses.
The last 5-yearly census held in 2006 showed (http://www.waitakere.govt.nz/abtcit/ps/pdf/2006AucklandCensu...) the percentage Asians in Auckland is 19%. It was maybe 1 or 2% only 25 yrs ago. The next census is due in Feb 2013 (delayed by 2 yrs because of the Jan 2011 earthquake in Christchurch), but based on impressions during my last trip back earlier this year, I'm guessing it could be up to 25%. That's quite a quick change in the ethnic makeup of a city.
When the NZ government ran out of money in 1991, they cancelled welfare benefits for anyone aged under 25. Suddenly, all these unemployed "kids" shifted back to their parents houses, and landlords had to half their rents to get tenants. To appease landowners and force those rents and house prices back up, the government opened the gates to Asian immigration bigtime.
Because of the automatic right of Australians and New Zealanders to live and work in each others country, many Asian immigrants move/d to Australia's big cities of Sydney and Melbourne after becoming a NZ citizen after 3 to 5 years of residence. That 19% Asian population of Auckland is only the tip of the iceberg of the immigrants who came.
New Zealanders buy houses Instead if other investments (to the frustration of numerous finance ministers). The housing market dipped only fractionally with recent world events, and basically sits where it was in 2007 at the moment. Kiwis love houses.
The last 5-yearly census held in 2006 showed (http://www.waitakere.govt.nz/abtcit/ps/pdf/2006AucklandCensu...) the percentage Asians in Auckland is 19%. It was maybe 1 or 2% only 25 yrs ago. The next census is due in Feb 2013 (delayed by 2 yrs because of the Jan 2011 earthquake in Christchurch), but based on impressions during my last trip back earlier this year, I'm guessing it could be up to 25%. That's quite a quick change in the ethnic makeup of a city.
When the NZ government ran out of money in 1991, they cancelled welfare benefits for anyone aged under 25. Suddenly, all these unemployed "kids" shifted back to their parents houses, and landlords had to half their rents to get tenants. To appease landowners and force those rents and house prices back up, the government opened the gates to Asian immigration bigtime.
Because of the automatic right of Australians and New Zealanders to live and work in each others country, many Asian immigrants move/d to Australia's big cities of Sydney and Melbourne after becoming a NZ citizen after 3 to 5 years of residence. That 19% Asian population of Auckland is only the tip of the iceberg of the immigrants who came.