CivicNZ

CivicNZ · NZ Index · Affordability

Flat

derived · never hand-set

On the latest official series, tracked topics are split — no overall Better or Worse majority.

  • A median house costs 7.2 times median gross household income, down from 7.8 times median gross household income in June 2020.
  • Non-owner-occupier households spending 30% or more on housing now account for 45.9%, up from 44.5% in the year to June 2023.
  • The annual rise in household living costs is 3.2%, up from 2.6% in the year to June 2025.

Data as of 13 Oct 2026 · Official sources only · Non-partisan

Better

1

Worse

1

Flat

1

How we decideNotable findingsGroup gapsNZ Index

5 topics

Plain answers, not tables

House price to income

Better

How many years of typical household income does a median house cost?

A median house costs 7.2 times median gross household income, down from 7.8 times median gross household income in June 2020.

7.2 times median gross household income · as of 17 Jun 2025

Rent to income

Insufficient

Are housing costs taking a larger share of household income?

Non-owner-occupier households spending 30% or more on housing now account for 45.9%, up from 44.5% in the year to June 2023.

45.9 % · as of 13 Oct 2026

Living costs versus wages

Worse

Did household living costs rise faster than wages?

The annual rise in household living costs is 3.2%, up from 2.6% in the year to June 2025.

3.2 % · as of 5 Aug 2026

Food and electricity

Insufficient

What happened to food and power prices?

Electricity prices rose 12.0%.

12 % · as of 23 Sept 2026

Housing cost burden

Flat

How much of disposable income goes on housing?

Housing now takes $22.30 of every $100, similar to $22.50 of every $100 in June 2024.

22.3 $ per $100 · as of 19 Feb 2026

Your household

Official readings by household type

Pick the published group that is closest. These are one-way official tables — association only, not a personalised score.

All households

Official all-households readings. National averages hide households that pay typical prices on below-average incomes.

Housing costs per $100 disposable income
$22.30 of every $100
as of 19 Feb 2026 · Stats NZ (opens in a new tab)
HLPI all-households annual change
3.2%
as of 28 Jul 2026 · Stats NZ (opens in a new tab)
Average weekly housing costs
$478 a week
as of 19 Feb 2026 · Stats NZ (opens in a new tab)

Regions

League tables

Official one-way regional tables, ranked. A rank is an association, not a cause.

  1. 1Auckland (opens in a new tab)17.2 times median household equivalised disposable income, down from 19.9 times median household equivalised disposable income
  2. 2Bay of Plenty (opens in a new tab)16.6 times median household equivalised disposable income, down from 16.9 times median household equivalised disposable income
  3. 3Waikato (opens in a new tab)15.5 times median household equivalised disposable income, down from 16.1 times median household equivalised disposable income
  4. 4Northland (opens in a new tab)15.3 times median household equivalised disposable income, similar to 15.4 times median household equivalised disposable income
  5. 5Tasman / Nelson / Marlborough / West Coast (opens in a new tab)13.4 times median household equivalised disposable income, down from 14.6 times median household equivalised disposable income
  6. 6Gisborne / Hawke's Bay (opens in a new tab)13.3 times median household equivalised disposable income, down from 16.4 times median household equivalised disposable income
  7. 7Canterbury (opens in a new tab)13.1 times median household equivalised disposable income, up from 11.3 times median household equivalised disposable income
  8. 8Wellington (opens in a new tab)12.9 times median household equivalised disposable income, down from 15.0 times median household equivalised disposable income
  9. 9Otago (opens in a new tab)12.8 times median household equivalised disposable income, down from 16.0 times median household equivalised disposable income
  10. 10Manawatū / Whanganui (opens in a new tab)12.3 times median household equivalised disposable income, down from 12.6 times median household equivalised disposable income
  11. 11Taranaki (opens in a new tab)12.2 times median household equivalised disposable income, similar to 12.1 times median household equivalised disposable income
  12. 12Southland (opens in a new tab)9.2 times median household equivalised disposable income, up from 8.8 times median household equivalised disposable income

Official one-way regional table. Rankings are associations, not causes. CivicNZ does not adjust for household mix. Data as of 17 Jun 2025. Official source (opens in a new tab)

  1. 1Auckland Region (opens in a new tab)$624 a week
  2. 2Bay of Plenty Region (opens in a new tab)$593 a week
  3. 3Otago Region (opens in a new tab)$584 a week
  4. 4Hawke's Bay Region (opens in a new tab)$565 a week
  5. 5Gisborne Region (opens in a new tab)$563 a week
  6. 6Northland Region (opens in a new tab)$543 a week
  7. 7Nelson Region (opens in a new tab)$540 a week
  8. 8Waikato Region (opens in a new tab)$539 a week
  9. 9Wellington Region (opens in a new tab)$536 a week
  10. 10Taranaki Region (opens in a new tab)$524 a week
  11. 11Canterbury Region (opens in a new tab)$515 a week
  12. 12Manawatū-Whanganui Region (opens in a new tab)$498 a week
  13. 13Southland Region (opens in a new tab)$452 a week
  14. 14West Coast Region (opens in a new tab)$436 a week

Official one-way regional table. Rankings are associations, not causes. CivicNZ does not adjust for household mix. Data as of 13 Oct 2026. Official source (opens in a new tab)

Spend versus outcome

Official spend beside official outcomes

CivicNZ places two official series side by side. That is an association, not a cause, and not a value-for-money verdict.

Housing spend versus housing-cost burden (opens in a new tab)

Spend

Average weekly housing costs

$478 a week, up from $458

Year ended June 2025

Outcome

Housing costs per $100 disposable income

$22.30 of every $100, similar to $22.50

Year ended June 2025

Both readings are from the same Stats NZ household income and housing-cost release. Weekly costs rose 4.4% while the share of income was not statistically different. That is an association in one survey, not a verdict on transfers or policy.

Stats NZ · as of 19 Feb 2026 (opens in a new tab)

Accommodation Supplement caseload versus renter housing-cost stress (opens in a new tab)

Spend

Accommodation Supplement recipients

Down 27,291 people, or 7.1%

Year to 30 September 2026

Outcome

Renting households spending 30%+ of disposable income on housing

45.9% in 2024, up from 42.8% in 2022

Year ended June 2024

MSD publishes the caseload change. HUD republishes the HES 30%+ renter rate. The windows do not match (September 2026 versus year ended June 2024). CivicNZ does not invent a stock count or a causal link between the two.

Ministry of Social Development; Ministry of Housing and Urban Development · as of 1 Oct 2026 (opens in a new tab)

Auto feed

Notable findings

Statistically notable changes or gaps. Each card carries an evidence-strength rating and a caveat. No causal claims.

Betterweak evidence

Median house sale / median household equivalised disposable income is better

Median house sale / median household equivalised disposable income moved from 15.9 times median household equivalised disposable income to 14.6 times median household equivalised disposable income (June 2020 → June 2024). Verdict Better is derived (recent_like_for_like), not an editorial call. The movement is an association in the official series.

Read the numbers →Official source (opens in a new tab)

Full findings feed

Confounder transparency

Raw gap beside official adjusted gap

Every region, income, and household-type comparison lists the measured factors. If the official table does not adjust, we say so. Correlations are labelled as association, not causation.

region

Median house sale / median household equivalised disposable income (official companion ratio)

Raw

8.0 more years of income

Adjusted

Not published

Association only. No causal claim.

household_type

Households spending 30% or more of disposable income on housing costs

Raw

19.3 percentage points higher

Adjusted

Not published

Association only. No causal claim.

income

Annual household living-costs inflation

Raw

2.6 percentage points higher

Adjusted

Not published

Association only. No causal claim.

All group comparisons