Housing NZ stock doesn't match the need

MSD has published data pertaining to Housing NZ stock and tenancies.

I've done some analysis:

- only 9 percent of properties are bedsits or one bedroom, but 29 percent of tenants are one person households. That means 12,829 tenants have a 'spare bedroom'.

- Almost 80 percent of the properties are 2  and 3 bedroom

- Almost two thirds of tenancies are to people aged 45 plus; just over a fifth are to Superannuitants. It would appear that a lot of people remain in 2 and 3 bedroom properties after their children have grown up.

- the most common type of tenant is one parent with children (33%). A state house tenant is more than  twice as likely to be a sole parent than a couple with children.


It's only common sense to adjust the stock to fit the need. That would solve a good deal of the low-income housing shortage. A couple of rough graphs showing 1/ the number of tenancies by number of bedrooms and 2/ the number of tenancies by age group






Another feature adding to 'homelessness' is the number of properties described as 'vacant' - 2,226 or 3.4% of the total (66,215).  Properties being sold or moved may need to stand vacant for a short period though my own  local observations are some properties stand vacant for months.

(State housing is just another form of income redistribution riddled with inefficiencies, bad incentives and injustices. But it isn't going away. Not under this government.)