Auckland remains a speculator's paradise - Twyford

New Reserve Bank figures show the Auckland housing market remains a speculator’s paradise with investors taking out mortgages for more than 5000 properties a month, Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford says. "Borrowing data released today show borrowing for houses increased by $1.9 billion in the past year. "Of that new borrowing, a whopping 43 per cent went to investors while only 12 per cent went to first home buyers. "This follows analysis by Quotable Value finding more than 40 per cent of properties in Auckland are being sold to investors. "Generation Rent is being squeezed out of the market by skyrocketing prices. The Kiwi dream of affordable home ownership is fast becoming an urban legend. "The blame for this lies squarely at the feet of the Government which has refused to take meaningful action to address the Auckland housing crisis. "National has tinkered with half measures such as its brightline test which has been slammed by experts as being ‘incoherent’ and ‘ineffective’. "The Government needs to embark on a massive state-backed building programme to flood the market with affordable houses and crackdown on speculators by banning non-resident foreign buyers from purchasing existing homes," Phil Twyford says.