Kiwis spending more on housing

Nearly one in three Kiwi households are spending over a quarter of their income on housing, according to Statistics New Zealand. Photo / Greg Bowker

Nearly one in three Kiwi households are spending over a quarter of their income on housing, according to Statistics New Zealand.

The national statistics agency today released its household expenditure figures for the year to June, which found that housing was becoming an increasing expense for many households.

From the year ending June 2007 to June 2016, the proportion of households spending one-quarter or more of their combined income on housing costs rose 5.5 percentage points to 31.3 per cent of all households.

In addition, in the past three years more of the household budget was taken up by housing and household utilities such as mortgage payments, rent, and rates.

Average weekly household expenditure increased by $190 (17.1 per cent) to $1,300 a week, with spending associated with housing and household utilities contributing most ($61) to this increase.

Apart from housing expenditure, Kiwi households also spent more on food in 2015/16 than three years earlier.

The proportion of households that reported eating out increased from 43.3 per cent to 51.5 per cent, with average expenditure on restaurant meals increasing 50 per cent to $25 a week.

The amount spent on buying vehicles was up $27 a week from three years ago, rising from $48 to $75. One quarter of households reported buying a vehicle in 2015/16 compared with 21.1 per cent in the 2012/13 survey.