The country's average annual household income gained more than 40 per cent in the past decade, but was still outpaced by rising housing costs, Statistics New Zealand figures show.
Since 2007, average annual household income has increased 42 per cent to $98,600, while average annual housing costs have risen 51 per cent to $16,000 in that time, the annual household income survey shows. Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, rose 20 per cent over the decade, Stats NZ said.
In the year ended June 2017, average annual personal income rose 7.7 per cent to $51,900. Average weekly housing costs were $318.50, almost unchanged from 2016, and lower mortgage interest rates helped to largely dampen any increases in housing costs, the government agency said. Average mortgage interest payments dropped 12 per cent to $250.80 a week over the year.
The official cash rate has been on hold since November last year at a record low and the central bank's forecasts show it does not expect to lift rates until September 2019 at the earliest. Acting Reserve Bank governor Grant Spencer kept the benchmark rate unchanged at 1.75 per cent as widely expected at the September review and signalled no change on the immediate horizon.
Earlier this year, Finance Minister Steven Joyce cautioned potential property buyers from getting too comfortable with current rates, saying they should consider whether any mortgage debt taken on is still affordable in three or four years if rates rise. Figures earlier this year showed household debt rose to a record 167 per cent of disposable income this year. The bulk of that was for housing, which increased 9 per cent to $232 billion as of January.
