FROM THE EDITOR

I am sorry to say there’s more bad news for first-home buyers in this issue with a warning from property insights company Homes.co.nz that apartment prices are vulnerable in a downturn. Prime Minister John Key’s advice young buyers purchase apartments, implies this will be a stepping stone to a second property. My own experience of buying a small unit is the next step has become unattainable. My place has gone up in value at a slower rate than larger properties and now I can’t afford the next step. In a recent Sunday Star Times column Nigel Latta said comments that firsthome buyers are not trying hard enough are insulting. You could never drink another latte and still not get any closer to home ownership. Instead of minimising the issue, the Government needs to throw everything it can at the problem. Smaller well-built homes near parks are part of the answer, as are a sensible capital gains tax and lower deposits for first-home buyers. The first step is owning the problem. - Jodi Yeats