Smith’s next step must be housing action

Nick Smith’s next step must be action to fix the housing crisis, now he’s accepted that Auckland is unaffordable for first home buyers, the Green Party said.

“New Zealand has gone through the five stages of grief in the housing crisis, and now that the Building and Housing Minister has reached the fifth stage – acceptance – it’s time for him to take action,” Green Party finance spokesperson Julie Anne Genter said.

“Nick Smith has finally recognised what people in Auckland have known for a very long time – houses are too expensive.

“The next step is for the Government to start building thousands more affordable homes and crack down on property speculation.

“The Government has been stuck in denial about the housing crisis, while first home buyers have been moving through the other stages of grief: anger at the Government’s inaction, bargaining with banks to get a bigger mortgage, and depression at constantly being outbid by property speculators.

“We cannot leave the housing crisis to the Reserve Bank alone to solve with new lending restrictions. We need more affordable housing being built and stronger action to stop property speculation,” said Ms Genter.

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