‘It’s engrained and entrenched snobbery’: why Māori don’t want to live on Māori land

Property valuer and property investment coach Inez White has a stern message for whānau who attribute not buying their own home to interest rates, prices, or politics.

By Mare Haimona-Riki of Whakaata Maori

Property valuer and property investment coach Inez White (Te Arawa) says negative rhetoric passed on by previous generations has deterred whānau from living on Māori land, papakāinga or in small rural communities.

“We have been taught somewhere through our family lines not to value our land,” she says.

“Our families don’t want to live in our neighbourhoods, you know, the Māori neighbourhoods. The ones that are right next to our papakāinga. They aspire to live in the middle-class neighbourhoods, and that’s ingrained and entrenched snobbery and we are just not acknowledging it anymore. Time and time again there are affordable places to live and we are just turning our noses up at them.”

She also has a stern message for whānau who attribute not buying their own home to interest rates, prices, or politics.

“Two and a half years ago, the interest rate was under 4 per cent ... And you didn’t buy it then. The prices in 2014 were half of what they are now, and you didn’t buy then, and the prices now are about 15 per cent lower than they were 18 months ago. The economic environment keeps changing and we’re still not taking action.”

“We can’t get buried under excuses and convenient mistruths,” she says.

White voiced her opinion on her personal Facebook page, motivated by her desire to encourage whānau to stop renting Māori land. She asserts that colonisation and oppression need to be considered when it comes to the reasons why Māori families are not engaging in property and land acquisition.

“We can’t shortcut that conversation, and just go ‘it’s because of the maths and interest rates and unaffordability’ and leave it at that.

“I want our whānau to stop renting our own land. Whether it’s the suburbs or general title we need to stop renting it from other people. That is the epitome of colonisation - when you are okay with that.”

White has owned her own home since she was 20 years old with the help of her father and built her first home with her husband at 27 years old. She credits her success in this area to the knowledge she has acquired.

“I have never earned more than the average person out there but I’ve had the good fortune of working in the field of property, so I’ve had some training in how to be methodical about the process.”

Through her business Indigineuty Agency, White helps families in Rotorua own their own homes. She also runs free workshops for Māori, particularly young people, on developing good financial habits and how becoming a homeowner is achievable.