> Note that the definition of a household includes "or two or more people who live together and share facilities (such as for cooking) in a private dwelling".

> Note that the definition of a household includes "or two or more people who live together and share facilities (such as for cooking) in a private dwelling". Well yes, it was ever thus. Many people do this and would prefer to live alone, but during this time, average household size has continued to decline. > If housing prices were flat then people would buy them largely for the rental income. No investor is going to pay $1,000,000 for a rental return of $40,000/y (before expenses) if there is no expectation of capital gains. I recently signed a lease for $45,000/y on a property valued at $1,500,000. Prices are only this high because of the expectation of capital gains. Without that, prices won't remain flat, they will fall and those that want to buy a home but currently can't will have a better chance. Especially because the major stumbling block for most is saving for the deposit (20% required in most cases). > Many people resist believing more supply will reduce prices. I don't deny that it might help. There is obviously some magic number of surplus homes that would cause prices to fall but that number is going to be very high. Any reasonable amount won't have an effect as significant as addressing the demand side of the equation (i.e. making property less attractive than it currently is relative to other investment opportunities). I once had a job that made me very familiar with the number of residences in certain parts of Wellington city. In a single year, in an area of just a few blocks, the number of residences went from about 800 to about 1300. Prices continued to rise. What did have some effect was the credit crunch following the GFC which kept prices subdued for a while.