Ben Leahy is a reporter for the New Zealand HeraldFirst-home buyers appear to be getting squeezed from the market as investors buy a record share of properties in what is being called the biggest housing boom in 20 years. Investors using home loans to buy, meanwhile, snapped up 30 per cent of all properties sold last month, their highest percentage share on record. National median house prices jumped to $730,300 last month, up from $612,000 last January, the Real Estate Institute revealed yesterday. "We can't stand by while house prices increase at the unsustainable rates of 2020," she said last month. However, this together with record low interest rates - that made borrowing cheaper than ever - had led many home buyers to rush to buy property, experts said.

Source: New Zealand Herald February 17, 2021 02:37 UTC