Opinion: Tauranga's housing unaffordability raises fears about teacher shortage

Dane Robertson, co-chairman of the Western Bay Principals' Association, says schools are not currently struggling to find staff but it could become a problem. Photo/File

It's great living in a vibrant, growing city.

Tauranga, it seems, is becoming a property hotspot as more people relocate to the area. It's not hard to see why people are drawn here. Its stunning coastline and inviting climate make it a great place to live.

And while it's nice to see others noticing the lifestyle opportunities the Western Bay offers, the influx of people is placing pressures on our city.

The most obvious signs of this are the lengthy traffic delays we now face when commuting and the rise in house prices and rents.

In fact, the latest Demographia survey has named Tauranga the 12th least affordable city in the world from a sample of 293 cities - ahead of Auckland.

The Demographia survey compares incomes to house prices to calculate how many years it takes to pay off a median-priced house if all income was poured into the mortgage.

It found Tauranga's median house price was 9.7 times the median income.

One impact of this is that there are fears young teachers may be put off shifting to Tauranga because of its reputation for unaffordable housing.

Dane Robertson, co-chairman of the Western Bay Principals' Association, says schools are not currently struggling to find staff but it could become a problem in the future, and the lifestyle lure of the Western Bay of Plenty is at risk from the rising cost of housing.

He notes that three years ago a lot of Auckland teachers were applying for jobs in the Western Bay, presumably because it was more affordable.

It would be deeply concerning if we started to lose highly skilled people to other regions because they are more affordable.