But what does that increase look like compared to actual work? What would you need to do for a crust if you wanted to earn as much as your house does just by sitting there?
Come fly with me across the city as we take a look with the help of this handy NZ Herald infographic.
Māngere is painted ocean blue for 'large change in value'. A typical house in Ascot Ave, Māngere, increased in value by around $78,000 per year, earning slightly more than your average accountant ($75,000). (All our salary figures are median levels from the government's Careers NZ service.)
Across the bridge in Onehunga, things are really heating up. On Church Street, the annual rise has cracked six figures, pulling in around $115,000 a year and leaving architects, civil engineers and surveyors in the dirt ($85,000, $85,000, $95,000). Tough luck if you happen to be anywhere near the median national wage of $48,800, or anything less than university educated - your serfdom is ensured.
Over in the blue collar, working class suburb of Parnell, homes on beautiful Tohunga Crescent have been earning around $350,000 a year, or as much as seven qualified builders ($53,000). Get swinging that hammer!
House price rises on Sandringham Road are about as delicious as the local cuisine, stacking cheddar to the tune of about $185,000 - that's significantly more than your typical construction project manager, and the equivalent of about five-and-a-half baristas or six kitchen staff.
My own home over the tracks in Morningside is sitting pretty with an income of just over $185,000 per year, or about four-and-a-half entry-level media hacks ($40,000), which is half a person more than can legally live there.
What all this would seem to suggest is that no matter what you do in Auckland, you're probably doing less than your house, which doesn't actually do anything.
Food for thought eh?
