Little’s house value went up most under Labour

The Herald reports:

Labour leader Andrew Little used his first house to highlight how housing had become unaffordable under the National-led Government.

However, analysis shows the value of his “starter home” in Wellington rose at a greater rate under a Labour Government than under National.

In his speech at Labour’s Congress on Sunday, Little said house prices were “out of control” and getting further and further out of reach for Kiwi families.

He spoke about he and his wife Leigh’s first home, a two-storey property in Brooklyn which cost $315,000.

“That wasn’t a small amount of money for us, but it was manageable. It got us a three-bedroom starter home, built on a hillside in Wellington.”

“Now, it would cost around $830,000. It’s gone up by half a million dollars in 17 years.

That is an annual compounding increase of just 5.9% a year. That is around the same as you’d get in other investments such as shares or a managed fund.

CoreLogic’s estimates also show that the property’s value rose at a greater rate under Labour than under National.

Under Labour, it rose by $255,000, or 81 per cent. Since 2008, when National came to power, it has risen by 48 per cent, or $273,000.

Whoops. Should do his homework before he uses his old home as an example.