Editorial: Young people need a dream

We all seem to have the same dream. To own our own home.

However, young New Zealanders have been finding this increasingly hard with high houses prices and lending restrictions in place.

I like to think I am one of the lucky ones. I was quite young when I managed to buy my first home. It wasn't anything special, but it was somewhere I could call my own.

I had been flatting and was relishing living alone, without all the drama and headaches associated with flatmates.

There was no arguments about whose turn it was to do the dishes, and you didn't have to worry about who was eating your food.

My house is currently rented out and I am also renting a house in Tauranga as I am not in a position to buy anything here. But the dream is still there, to not be paying off someone else's mortgage.

Property is in hot demand in this country and, in most centres, detached houses with quarter-acre sections are few and far between.

There's often low wages and high houses prices and it seems like there can be road blocks at every turn, but all is not lost.

This week, we have featured a five-part series, with the final story in today's paper, aimed at helping young Kiwis get on the property ladder.

I must say, I don't think I would have been able to get on the property ladder in Tauranga as easily as I did in Rotorua.

However, we recently reported that home affordability in Tauranga had improved but families were still struggling to get into their first homes.

According to latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand figures, the median house price in Tauranga dropped from $388,000 to $360,064 in the month to April.

The average weekly after-tax pay for those on a median Tauranga income was $763.43, up from $739.72 in April last year.

The Getting on the Property Ladder series has highlighted some of the ways around the lending restrictions and some of the options which are available to those looking to buy their first home.

Like our parents, young people in this country should have the opportunity to buy their own home.