NZ housing market most overpriced

New Zealand’s housing market is the most overvalued in the developed world relative to rents, an OECD report has concluded.

The report found property prices in New Zealand, Australia and Britain, among others, are well out of kilter with wages and rents.

In comparison to rents, New Zealand has the most overpriced housing market of all the 34 nations in the OECD, with values found to be 70 percent too high.

Norway, which topped the list last year, is now in second place with values 68 percent too high, followed closely by Canada.

Relative to average wages, New Zealand’s housing market is nearly a third overpriced, on a par with Britain’s.

The OECD said this posed a risk to the financial system.The organisation’s study is part of a wider report on the health of the global economy published on 6 May.