Census 2006 confirms declining home ownership

The key findings include the overall rate of home ownership falling from 67.8% in 2001 to 66.9% in 2006. The younger age groups, those between 20-40 years of age, experienced the greatest percentage point declines in their share of owner-occupier tenure across both periods.

While the actual number of households owning is increasing, the growth in the number of households renting is growing faster. The strong population growth areas of Auckland,
Canterbury, Bay of Plenty and the Waikato experienced the greatest growth in the number of owner-occupier households over the 2001 to 2006 period, as they did over the 1991 to 2001 period.

Over the 2001 to 2006 period the percentage growth in the number of private-renter households was greatest in Auckland, Wellington, Marlborough and Bay of Plenty.

The overall home ownership rate is projected to fall by 5% to 61.9% between 2006 and
2016, however, the rate of change is expected to vary between regions. For example,
Gisborne and Auckland are projected to have the lowest home ownership rates at 57% and 58.3% respectively, with Marlborough the highest at 70%, in 2016.

The number of owner-occupier households is expected to increase by 43,010 and renter households by 151,890 between 2006 and 2016. The strongest growth in both owner-occupier and renter households is projected to occur in the Auckland region.

CHRANZ says these projections suggest that the pressure on the building industry from projected population/household growth is unlikely to be greater than the levels of demand experienced over the last five years. The projected growth does not include second homes (for example holiday homes) where they are not rented to other households.

The highest proportion of multi unit developments will continue to be in the
Auckland and Wellington regions where the pressures on land supply for future residential development are greatest.