8. Question No. 8—HousingBROOKE VAN VELDEN (Deputy Leader—ACT) to the Minister of HousingQuestion No. 8—Housing8. BROOKE VAN VELDEN (Deputy Leader—ACT) to the Minister of Housing: Does she believe that Government policies are helping first-home buyers keep up with rising house prices?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Housing): Talofa lava Mr Speaker. In March we introduced a package of both demand and supply measures aimed at increasing housing supply relieving speculative demand pressures on the market and making it easier for first-home buyers. Ten weeks in we are seeing some promising indicators that our Government's recent policies are beginning to help first-home buyers but I acknowledge that it's very early to assess the impact of the package. The housing crisis is a problem decades in the making that will take more time to turn around but our combination of measures including reducing barriers to building houses will start to make a difference.Brooke van Velden: Has she seen reports of how increasing housing costs have contributed to nearly half of the Capital and Coast DHB's bowel screening programme nurses quitting and if so what urgent actions are being taken to support those affected by rising house costs?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: In answer to the first part of the question no I have not seen that report.Brooke van Velden: Has she seen reports of the average resale profit in Wellington increasing by $60000 over the last three months and if so does she believe that first-home buyers can be expected to raise the additional $12000 for a deposit they would have needed over those three months?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Yes I have seen reports of those increases in Wellington but I have also seen several reports showing that the different impacts of the policies are starting to take effect at different speeds around the country. So if we have a look at the house price index change between February 2021 when we were seeing a 5.3 percent monthly increase in house price and April 2021 across the country it was 0.6 percent. I also point to a number of commentators that are pointing to the fact that they are seeing an uplift in terms of first-home buyer market activity in the market and Westpac economists for example who are saying that they've revised their house price forecast as a result of the Government's recent move. I think the point is we are 10 weeks into these changes. These are problems decades in the making but we are starting to see some promising green shoots.Nicola Willis: Does she think her Government's decision to buy up more than $750 million worth of houses to turn them into State homes has helped or hindered first-home buyers?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I think the member needs to get some perspective on that number and the size of the total number of sales—Hon Gerry Brownlee: Duff advice—duff advice. Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: —of properties that we have—SPEAKER: Order! Too loud Mr Brownlee.Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Always. The member needs to get some perspective. But what the member is talking about—[Interruption] Thank you Mr Brownlee. The number that the member is talking about is actually a very tiny fraction of the number of sales and purchases that happen in New Zealand. But as I have repeatedly told that member in this House I am not satisfied with the level of buy-ins that I saw were happening within our public housing sector that were instigated under the previous Government. In some years like 2015 for example 67 percent of the all-new public housing places were in fact buy-ins and not new builds. Our Government has that down to around 12 percent this year. I am proud of what we're doing in public housing.Nicola Willis: Well can she confirm answers to her own written questions showing her Government has spent—SPEAKER: No I think you might just want to rephrase the beginning of it. I don't think—Nicola Willis: Showing the Government not Megan Woods' Government?SPEAKER: No I don't think they were her questions—her answers.Nicola Willis: Can she confirm her answers to written questions showing the Government—her Government—has spent more than five times as much buying up houses than the past National Government ever did and what does she say to the hundreds of first-home buyers who have missed out on a house because they were outbid by the Government?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I certainly can confirm that we've spent five times more than the previous Government because that was a Government that sold off public housing and did not add to our stock. It was a Government that ended up with 1500 fewer public houses than it started with and what I say to first-home buyers is that this is a Government that is part of the solution to the housing crisis not the cause of it. We have built over 5000 new public homes in the nearly four years we've been in Government. Brooke van Velden: What reports has she received on how fast incomes would have to grow for first-home buyers in order to keep up with house price inflation from the previous quarter? Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: There are a number of reports that are out there that are calculating across different regions what that would look like. We saw that CoreLogic is showing what that is doing across different parts of New Zealand. But I think the point I want to make to the member is that we are not content with the current rate of house prices that we are seeing. This is exactly why we instituted these changes back in March and are happy to see that we are seeing some green shoots. That shows some indications that rapid house price growth is slowing. Brooke van Velden: How much does she believe an affordable house should cost in Wellington? Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I think that we've traversed this ground often in this House. There are international measures: around 30 percent of income on housing whether that be through rent or whether that be through servicing mortgages. But of course some people choose to spend far more of their incomes on mortgages because they want to pay them off faster. Chlöe Swarbrick: Is the Government still committed to so-called sustained moderation of house prices and if so is the Minister aware that it will take approximately 50 years for house prices then to get back to the level of affordability in the early 2000s? Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: We're a Government that is taking action to ensure that we can do something about out-of-control house prices. What we have shown is that we have a programme of work that we see that the Treasury and the Reserve Bank forecasts show less than a 1 percent increase in housing prices in the coming year as a result of policies that our Government has instituted. David Seymour: What does it say for the effectiveness of that action by the Government that the May year-on-year CoreLogic figures showed a 20 percent rise in national house prices versus only 18 percent in April? Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: As I said in the answer to the primary question we are 10 weeks in from making these changes and in terms of the only data we have which is for April that reflects six weeks in. The data set that the member referred to first is indeed the one that included the hyperinflation from November through to March. Hon Grant Robertson: Further to that answer can the Minister confirm that the latest monthly data does show that in 10 of 19 regions we are seeing a slowing rate of house price increases? Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Yes and furthermore some of that data shows across Auckland even bigger swings.