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Renters’ rage on the riseThursday 27 September 2007 Rents rising across the country have triggering 'renters rage' amongst a quarter of Kiwi renters, with many experiencing negative psychological effects. One third of renters also expressed a genuine fear of never being able to own their own home, according to a national survey, conducted by allrealestate.co.nz. ‘Desperate’, ‘anxious’ and ‘helpless’ – these are the words renters use to describe how they feel. “The psychological perception of even a small increase of $10 per week can push some renters to the brink of despair,” said allrealestate.co.nz's general manager Shaun Di Gregorio. ‘Rent’ has been coined a dirty four-letter-word by many New Zealanders, giving rise to a social divide between renters and homeowners which, according to this research is worsening. “A significant drop in housing affordability over the last 10 years has forced many people to stay in rental accommodation, and high rental prices are making it impossible for prospective first home buyers to save enough money to think about buying a house," says Di Gregorio. The survey revealed: “Renters desperate for a solution spend many hours looking at listings on allrealestate.co.nz, so we have some insight into the stresses renters are facing. It’s important to be aware of the roll-on effects rising rents and home shortages are having on paying tenants," he says. The survey, which was designed to study the concerns of the forgotten players in the real estate game – renters – provides a glimpse into the hardships experienced by nearly a third of Kiwis who don’t own their own home. “The overwhelming challenges facing this large section of our society paints a pretty dim picture,” says Di Gregorio. “With so many New Zealanders living in rental accommodation, it’s about time some status was given back to renters.”
Comments from our readersOn 8 July 2010 at 12:59 am baiba said:
I agree to give some status back to renters. Its surprising how arrogant some landlords can be, implying that they are so much better than you because they happen to own the house that you pay them (a lot of money) to live in. They can be very intrusive and direspectful of tenants, not allowing peace and privacy which is vital for humans to feel happy. Add your comment:Showcase Auckland hotel Westin Lighter Quay in chaos One of Auckland's top hotels, the Westin Lighter Quay, is in chaos as unit titleholders and receivers square off over access to and revenue from 114 of its 172 rooms and its bar, restaurant and retail areas. Soft housing activity predicted for the rest of the year amid weak REINZ data Economists are predicting the housing market will stay soft for the rest of the year after Real Estate Institute data showed sales volumes stayed under pressure last month. Review may give investors some depreciation relief Commercial and industrial property investors should still be able to claim significant depreciation allowances, an asset depreciation expert says. Economist pushes out dates for next OCR hikes One economist has pushed out the date for the Reserve Bank’s next official cash rate hike citing recent downgrades to its forecasts for global GDP growth, including in Australia and New Zealand. |
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