New Zealand has topped a chart of house price rises in the world's developed countries and been given a warning that the boom cannot last.
Tuesday, June 8th 2004, 7:51AM
by The Landlord
In an article headlined "Hair-raising", the Economist has added New Zealand, Denmark and Switzerland to a list of countries tracked since 1975 - a chart on which New Zealand did not rate a mention until now.
Housing prices were rising at a rate of 22 per cent a year in the first part of this year, which put New Zealand at the top of the 16-country list.
The Economist said it was "the biggest increase of any of the countries we track".
"House prices have outpaced inflation everywhere in recent years except Germany and Japan, where prices have fallen.
"Among our 16 countries, prices are now at record levels in relation to average wages and rents in America, Australia, Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Spain."
