'Explosion of wealth inequality' as housing boom leaves many behind - economist - Property News AU/NZ | propertynoise.co.nz & propertynoise.com.au

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PHOTO: Jacinda Ardern. Growing hesitancy in housing market as fear of missing out gives way to fear of overpaying. Getty

For many, life in New Zealand’s capital Wellington is largely back to normal. Its windswept streets are crowded with maskless shoppers and office workers, bars are packed and the economy is humming along.

In the distinctive ‘Beehive’ Parliament building, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Government have garnered lavish global praise for controlling the COVID-19 pandemic where many other leaders failed.

But across town, staff at the Wellington City Mission are struggling to cope with soaring homelessness and inequality as the pandemic – and the Government’s response – inflames what was already among the world’s least affordable housing markets.

“This is a crisis,” says Murray Edridge, the head of the Anglican Church-affiliated charitable trust. “Inequality was always growing, but COVID-19 is the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.”

The number of people seeking emergency housing in the city of 211,000 has tripled in the last 12 months, as rents hit record highs and the pandemic disproportionately impacted lower earning jobs.

Around the country, motels and other temporary boarding facilities converted to emergency housing are increasingly crammed with desperate families seeking shelter, with about 4000 children now in such state accommodation