In New Zealand, which has some of the highest property values in the world, the government is working to provide more affordable options to home buyers. One way that it will do so is in the shared equity program it has set up and was first announced on Tuesday.
The program will help assist home buyers when making their first home purchase. The property will be secured by a state approved agency or the state itself as a second mortgage. There will be no interest applied to that portion, but it must be repaid at the time of resale of the property.
The country was rated as having the most expensive homes in the world with an average coming near to $450,000.
There is some concern over such funding options, as well as over whether the government should require new developments to provide some level of affordable housing alongside more expensive properties. The government is considering opening public land which would allow for a large scale development of more urban projects.
A bill was introduced in parliament which would mean that the council has the power to require that the developers include some form of affordable housing in their plans.
Key locations for such property development will be in locations around Auckland including Papakura, Tamaki and Manukau.
