WELLINGTON (CU)_Over the past year house prices in New Zealand have reported a noteworthy escalation, according to most recent figures. Historically low interest rates, together with the country’s relative success with COVID-19 and billions of dollars in government stimulus have seen house prices surge to record levels, making the goal of an affordable, healthy and accessible home more remote. Recent figures show a 26 per cent increase in house prices in August, year on year, making housing in the island nation the least affordable among the member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Accordingly, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s government is set to…