Regionally, ownership rose everywhere except in Auckland. At 59.50 per cent, Auckland recorded effectively zero growth in the rate of home ownership between 2018 and 2023, gaining just 0.10 percentage points.
Auckland accounts for roughly a third of New Zealand’ s population and an even larger share of its housing market activity. It is the country’ s most expensive major market, where affordability pressures on working-age buyers are most acute.
A national ownership rate that improves while Auckland stagnates is partly a story about ownership shifting toward regions where it was already easier.
By contrast, in smaller, more affordable regional markets like Tasman( 77.40 per cent), West Coast( 74.60 per cent) and Marlborough( 74 per cent) posted among the highest ownership rates in the country, all growing solidly in the five years to 2023.
RAY WHITE NOW NEW ZEALAND | 11