Thousands of older Christchurch residents are doomed to rent for life, says Hugh Pavletich, a city resident and Demographia's co-author.
"The quake-damaged homes in the red zone have an average value of $295,000, based on the 2007 rateable value. How can these people afford to buy new houses on the fringes for about $450,000 when the median household income in the east is only about $45,000? The political authorities both locally and nationally have failed since September 2010 - some 17 months ago - to address this extremely serious issue," he said.
The Government's objective all along should have been to allow new housing on the city's fringes built for about $200,000 initially.
"Christchurch is a low-income city. It must have affordable housing to survive. There is a desperate need for land release in this disaster-stricken city," Mr Pavletich said.
"We can't get a recovery under way here while land prices are so high. If you're 60 and your mortgage eligibility has had it and you've got very little insurance, what are you going to do?" he asked.
