A new report highlights just how tough it is for first-home buyers to get on to the property ladder.
And, judging by the predictions it contains, the task is only going to get harder.
The report, commissioned by SmartGrowth, says the percentage of people renting will rise from 36 per cent this year to 45 per cent in 2047.
Only 1300 of Tauranga's 16,500 renters earn enough to affordably buy a house at the lower end of the city's housing market.
The failure of incomes to keep pace with either house prices or rents meant that 80 per cent of Tauranga renters and 50 per cent of Western Bay District renters earning up to $50,000 were experiencing ''housing stress''.