Larry Williams: Auckland's runaway house market

Auckland, North Shore - View over Devonport towards Auckland City. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The Reserve Bank is again highlighting Auckland's runaway house market.

Auckland prices rose 24 per cent over the past year compared to 3 per cent for the rest of the country. Investors are responsible for 41 per cent of Auckland residential purchases.

Here's the thing: half of the new lending to investors is being written at loan-to-value ratios of over 70 per cent. It's easy to see where part of the problem lies - tax incentives are pumping up the price of houses.

Only when the Government changes the tax incentives around housing will it start to address the out of control housing market.

In the last week we have seen the Australians introduce GST on online shopping, and guess what, we are following. The Australian Reserve Bank wants to confront tax incentives on property investment, and despite Joe Hockey's indignation, eventually an Australian government will remove the tax incentives, and we will follow.

I don't blame investors, the tax system is set up to make investing in property attractive, but until the policy is skewered, house prices will continue to rise.

Land claim

Winston Peters will have much support over his scathing criticism of the Maori land claim over greater Auckland. Peters says "National has indulged Maori separatism and is now attracting patently absurd claims like Tainui's for Auckland".

The government is buying into this Maori greed nonsense. When you have the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations more or less inviting the claim, it's easy to reach the conclusion that he thinks the claim has merit. And we have three iwi fighting over the same carcass which is greater Auckland.

They all say they own Auckland with a straight face. Ngapuhi clearly thinks Auckland is theirs and they're telling the other iwi to go away until they have finished screwing the government. I think they should all bugger off.

Auckland is already under siege with the politically correct "cultural impact assessment" which is gouging hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for no good reason other than so-called sites of significance and value to mana whenua. It's all drivel of course but ratepayers are still paying.

Ordinary folk are sick to death with these Maori claims. Kiwis are fair minded people but with the Maori "gravy train" failing to stop at the station they rightly have had enough. They see no end to these claims and why would they when Tainui have already had a full and final settlement and they're back for another shot.

The settlement process was well intentioned but Maori demands have spiralled and now expect stuff....like Auckland.... it's time to stop the pandering and the liberal white guilt.