Opinion: Great for home owners, not so for others

FILE

IT'S amazing what has happened to Rotorua house values in the past year.

Though many experts predicted provincial centres such as Rotorua would eventually follow the Auckland trend of rising house prices, I wonder how many would have expected values to jump quite so dramatically in such a short space of time.

We report today average house values are up almost 25 per cent from a year ago.

Great news for home owners, but not so great for first home buyers struggling to get on the property ladder. In Rotorua, rising prices and fierce competition for the dwindling number of houses on the market has made that a challenge.

It's a very Kiwi ambition to own your own home, one I have never fully understood. I never dreamed of owning my own home one day and though I eventually did buy here in Rotorua I would have happily kept renting had I been in the right house.

Renting affords freedoms that home ownership doesn't - no responsibility for upkeep and maintenance, not to mention the rates and insurances. And you simply call the landlord if something breaks.

And with no gigantic deposit to save or mortgage hanging over your head there is often more disposable income to spend on other things - travel, toys or other treats.

Well, that was always my theory. Until things got tough for renters too.

On Saturday we reported on the desperate lengths people are going to to try and secure a decent rental, while time and time again we hear property agents talking about the shortage of properties.

It's clear we need more houses. Just as Auckland is now trying to urgently address this, Rotorua could be set to follow suit in the next few years especially if our population keeps growing.

Until then, it seems buying's hard and renting's hard. Home owners are in a more comfortable position, although for those of us not in a position to invest in a second property, nothing much changes. Sure we could sell up and rake in the profit, but then where would we live?

So for now I won't be getting carried away by my 'new found wealth' as a homeowner.
Instead, I will simply stay grateful for a warm, dry roof over my head.