New Zealand house prices are the world's second-highest compared with rents, according to the Economist.
The magazine published a list of 21 countries, comparing prices with rents, and showed that only Canada topped New Zealand.
It showed the relationship between the price of buying a house and the amount of rent which would be generated from that house, saying the price-to-rent ratio was "an analogue of the price-to-earnings ratio used to judge the equity value of listed firms".
That showed that New Zealand properties were 68 per cent overvalued compared with the rent generated.
Canada's were higher on 76 per cent but New Zealand's were ahead of Belgium's 65 per cent, Singapore's 60 per cent, Hong Kong's 58 per cent and Australia's 48 per cent.