Housing affordability
Definition
The proportion of youth aged 18 to 24 living in a household that spends more than 30 percent of its income on housing (including rents, rates, mortgage payments etc.).
Relevance
High housing costs relative to income are often a cause of severe financial stress, particularly in low-income households. Such costs may leave households with insufficient income to meet other basic needs for food, clothing, transport, medical care and education.
Current level and trends
There has been a substantial increase in the proportion of youth in homes with high housing costs relative to household income since the late 1980s.
In the decade 1988 to 1998, the proportion of youth in households spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs more than doubled from 12.4 percent to 26.1 percent.
In 2007, 28.9 percent of youth aged 18 to 24 lived in households which spent more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs.
Proportion of youth aged 18 to 24 living in households with high housing costs, selected years 1988-2007
Source: Derived from Statistics New Zealand’s Household Economic Survey by the Ministry of Social Development.
