House Prices

Put home ownership on hold: now tenants can get rich too

Shock, horror! Home ownership is falling and will continue to fall. But is that so bad? A recent report from the Centre for Housing Research says that the percentage of households that are owner- occupied is expected to fall from 68 per cent in 2001 to less than 62 per cent in 2016.

Tuesday, October 25th 2005

And longer-term data show that current rates are down from about 74 per cent in 1986.

I'm not arguing that owning your home is not a good idea. Most people want the security – the knowledge that no landlord can kick them out just when the kids are settled in to school – and the freedom to do what they want with their dwelling and garden.

Other advantages include pride of ownership and the ability to take in boarders or flatmates for extra income.

And, if you want to borrow for business and you have built up equity in your home, you can take on a mortgage, or add to your current mortgage, giving you much cheaper finance than alternative sources.

There are, however, some pretty strong arguments in favour of renting.

"The key advantages of rental tenure were no responsibility for rates, insurance and maintenance; flexibility; and the ability to live in locations where owner-occupation was unaffordable," says the report.

Flexibility is obvious. Tenants are not stuck at home doing maintenance or gardening that they do not enjoy. As someone said: "Did you have a good weekend or do you own your own home?" And tenants can move much more easily and cheaply than home owners.

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Heartland Bank - Online 6.69
SBS FirstHome Combo 6.74
Wairarapa Building Society 6.95
Unity 6.99
Co-operative Bank - First Home Special 7.04
ICBC 7.05
China Construction Bank 7.09
BNZ - Classic 7.24
ASB Bank 7.24
ANZ Special 7.24
TSB Special 7.24
Unity First Home Buyer special 6.45
Heartland Bank - Online 6.45
China Construction Bank 6.75
TSB Special 6.75
ICBC 6.75
ANZ Special 6.79
ASB Bank 6.79
AIA - Go Home Loans 6.79
Kiwibank Special 6.79
BNZ - Classic 6.79
Unity 6.79
Westpac Special 6.39
China Construction Bank 6.40
ICBC 6.49
SBS Bank Special 6.55
Kiwibank Special 6.55
BNZ - Classic 6.55
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 6.55
ASB Bank 6.55
AIA - Go Home Loans 6.55
TSB Special 6.59
Kainga Ora 6.99
SBS FirstHome Combo 6.19
AIA - Back My Build 6.19
ANZ Blueprint to Build 7.39
Credit Union Auckland 7.70
ICBC 7.85
Heartland Bank - Online 7.99
Pepper Money Essential 8.29
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 8.40
Co-operative Bank - Standard 8.40
First Credit Union Standard 8.50
Kiwibank 8.50

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