Household survey finds mortgage payments down, rents up

The fall in interest rates during the year to June 30, 2009 meant median weekly mortgage payments in New Zealand fell 4.8% over the year, figures released by Statistics New Zealand show. Median rent payments rose 9.5% over the year. The Household Economic Survey (Income) showed average weekly expenditure on housing costs was unchanged from the year to June 2008. The increase in average weekly ground rent payments (up 8.1%) was offset by decreases in average mortgage principal repayments (down 7.1%) and average mortgage interest payments (down 2.8%), Stats NZ said. Here is the full release from Stats NZ:

Results from the Household Economic Survey (Income) (HES (Income)) for the year ended June 2009 show no overall change in average weekly expenditure on housing costs from the previous year, Statistics New Zealand said today. This result was made up of an increase across all households in average weekly property and ground rent payments (up 8.1 percent), offset by decreases in average mortgage principal repayments (down 7.1 percent) and average mortgage interest payments (down 2.8 percent). For those making rent payments, median (half pay more, half pay less) weekly rent payments increased from $220 in 2007/08 to $241 in 2008/09 (up 9.5 percent). Meanwhile, median weekly mortgage payments, for those making these payments, decreased from $328 in 2007/08 to $312 in 2008/09 (down 4.8 percent), partly reflecting a decrease in mortgage interest rates charged over the survey period. For those paying rent, median weekly rent payments in the five regions surveyed were as follows: Auckland ($300), Wellington ($250), Canterbury ($245), Rest of North Island ($200), and Rest of South Island ($178). Meanwhile, median weekly mortgage payments, for those making these payments, were as follows: Auckland ($414), Wellington ($340), Canterbury ($318), Rest of North Island ($262), and Rest of South Island ($219). Other survey results showed that average (mean) annual household income was $78,876 in 2008/09, up 5.6 percent from 2007/08. The increase was driven primarily by an increase in aggregate wage and salary income. HES (Income) is a shortened version of the three-yearly full Household Economic Survey. It ran for the first time in the year ended 30 June 2008, and is run in each of the two years between the full HES to collect data on household and personal income, living standards, and housing costs.