Alex - I notice on your graphics you have the term 'home loan affordability' as the title of the relevant data. Somewhere in between the original graph and your press releases this becomes 'housing affordability'.

I have been banging this drum for a wee while but there is rather a significant difference between the 2 terms. Witness this month when the REINZ says median went up $5000. Now when measured using 'home loan affordability' this is compensated by a drop in interest rates, so according to the definition you folks rather loosely bandy about 'housing affordability' stays the same. However lets say I am a fully cashed up non mortgage buyer (who needs no loan) - clearly to me 'housing affordability' just got $5000 more expensive.

The upshot of this? I really DO think you guys should restrain yourself to using the term 'home loan affordability' in all your releases as this IS what you guys are defining here (and you admit as much when you present the graphical data - after all you don't use 'housing affordability' to desribe the originator graph do you?). Your use of the term 'housing affordability' is imprecise (and more than a little misleading), though I dare say its designed to capture headlines.

Hi Andy,

Fair point, it is home loan affordability we are looking at.

Cheers

Alex