A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
Opinion
Seventy-five percent of people responding to your online poll so far think local house prices increasing is a good thing.
Increasing house prices may seem good for the portion of the community with enough money to already own a home, but what it is doing is making property ownership harder
for those on low incomes, and it increases inequality, which ultimately is bad for everyone.
According to Census data, the home ownership rate in Gisborne has been steadily declining — from 63 percent in 2001 to less than 48 percent in 2013. So at this rate of decline, more than 1 percent per year, it could be around only 40 percent of the population now.
Over the same period (2001-2013), the proportion of locals aged 20 to 49 who own their own home (including with a mortgage) decreased by 9 percent and the proportion of locals aged 50 to 79 in rented accommodation increased by 6 percent.
Numerous emperical studies have shown how significant home ownership is not only a key driver of net wealth and economic security, but has a range of other benefits for both the home owners and usually the next generation who benefit from the wealth accumulated in the family estate.
