The dopey thinking pervading the housing debate

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By Leith van Onselen

The cognitive dissonance on display at Interest.co.nz over the weekend was clear as day with two contradictory articles appearing side by side: one cautioning against lowering immigration and the other lamenting the huge increase in Auckland’s housing shortage:

The second article on Auckland’s housing shortage is particularly alarming as it shows the region’s undersupply of homes has blown-out by nearly 400% in just four years – from 6944 in 2014 to 34,150 in 2018 – on the back of an insane 134,000 increase in population from net overseas migration:

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.