Homeowners share tips
As chances of entering the New Zealand property market plummet, young Māori are finding it harder to climb the property ladder than other New Zealanders.
The level of Māori homeownership has dropped significantly since 1999, with only 26% owning a home compared with 41% for non-Māori, according to The Hui’s report with support from Te Māngai Pāho and NZ On Air.
“We know that the homeownership levels are at the lowest they’ve ever been, and at this rate, look like they might be heading to even lower depths, which is a particular challenge for us,” Associate Minister for Housing Peeni Henare told The Hui.
As a result, the government has announced a new national Māori housing strategy, Maihi Ka Ora, to have a more cohesive partnership with iwi to increase the housing stock for Māori.
“We know that a lot of our whānau are renters and all of our whānau find themselves in social housing. In order for us to amend this issue, and for us to build more homes for Māori, we need to be able to support iwi with capital investment and infrastructure,” Henare said.
Read more: Sector calls on government to rethink Property Law Act amendment
Despite the dramatic decline in Māori homeownership, some homeowners are urging young Māori not to give up, sharing tips on entering the market.
Rotorua couple Rangipare Ngaropo and Uenukuterangihoka Jefferies, for example, advised young Māori not to hesitate in getting pre-approvals, applying for grants, and other processes.
Ngaropo told The Hui: “It was quite disheartening, the first few offers we put forward. We’d get really excited about putting an offer forward and then finding out that we were unsuccessful every time. And we started to think, are we ever going to crack it?
“Getting pre-approval, applying for grants, all of that stuff is challenging for whānau. I would be embarrassed to ask for things. And my mom said, ‘nah, this is a different space; this isn’t te ao Māori’. You actually say, can I see this? I would like you to submit this. And that was a huge learning experience for us.”
Another young Māori couple, Ezra and Darzel Hayes, shared that they are in the process of buying a second home and plan to be mortgage-free by their mid-30s, adding that having a financial adviser helps them through the process.
