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> In NZ we have created a culture that obsesses with house prices. It's been this way since at least 2000, if not earlier. Many peoples retirements plans hinge

> In NZ we have created a culture that obsesses with house prices. It's been this way since at least 2000, if not earlier. Many peoples retirements plans hinge on them being landlords or holding large amounts of property. Canada and New Zealand are similar in that respect. There are a sizable number of people with "investment properties", but the majority of homeowners own a single home and are counting on the price to rise indefinitely to fund their retirement. Economists and politicians regularly brag about how much 'wealth' the average Canadian has; in reality, being able to sell your house for 1.5MM isn't that much of a windfall when other houses are at least 1MM and rising rapidly, and renting is more expensive than having a mortgage.

cuddlybacon 5y ago
> in reality, being able to sell your house for 1.5MM isn't that much of a windfall when other houses are at least 1MM and rising rapidly, and renting is more expensive than having a mortgage. This is starting to hit a lot of my parent's social circle. They are retiring, mostly from the edge of a big city. About half plan to or have retired in a small town. In that case they are able to get something with the $1.5M they sold for, but they are driving prices up in those towns in a way locals can't afford. The other half wants something else in the city. Some remaining in the suburbs, others move more into the city, others "in the sticks" and are all surprised that that's going to use up all of their $1.5M. They expect to buy something for $200k and have the rest for retirement lol.