PHOTO: KEVIN STENT/STUFF Wellington first home buyers are purchasing in record numbers as rents continue to soar. (File photo)
First home buyers are hitting the bank of Mum and Dad and heading out of Wellington’s central city, as house and rental prices in the capital continue to soar.
The percentage of homes being snapped up by first home buyers outside the city has reached record levels, with more than a third of sales in Porirua and Hutt Valley being made by those trying to get a foothold on the property ladder.
But with an average regional sale price of $706,000 and housing stock half of what it was five years ago, breaking into the housing market remains a daunting proposition.
The latest figures from CoreLogic show 33 per cent of the region’s home buyers between January and March were purchasing their first property, the highest proportion since records began in 2005 – believed to be the highest ever.
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