The New Zealand Herald is bringing back some of the best premium stories of 2021. Today we take a look at New Zealand's housing market.
Interactive: 40 years of sky-high house prices - how your region compares
New Zealand is in a housing crisis as prices rise faster than pay packets and Kiwis increasingly find it hard to buy a home in our cities.
A typical Kiwi worker now needs nine years to save a deposit, while an Aucklander needs11 years – leading the nation's biggest city to be regularly ranked among the developed world's most unaffordable.
How did house prices in New Zealand become so expensive? Herald housing reporter Ben Leahy and data specialist Chris McDowall track the national and main city averages and explain some of the key events of the last 40 years.
NZ house prices have soared in the last 40 years, especially in Auckland. Image / Alex Burton
Auckland suburbs rezoned for apartments: Is your property affected?
Aucklanders can now see if their home or neighbourhood could be rezoned for apartment blocks of at least six storeys using a tool developed by the Herald.
Auckland Council has released a proposed approach for implementing a directive from the Government to require more housing intensification across the city.
In the biggest change to planning rules since the Unitary Plan, apartment buildings of six storeys or more will be permitted in many of the city's single-house and heritage suburbs.
