WELLINGTON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand household incomes rose in the year to June 2025, but higher housing costs left affordability largely unchanged, Stats NZ reported Thursday.
Average weekly household disposable income increased 5.1 percent to 2,077.7 NZ dollars (1,244.33 U.S. dollars) in the year to June 2025, while average weekly housing costs for households rose 4.4 percent to 478 NZ dollars, said a statement from the statistics department.
Households spent about 22 percent of their disposable income on housing, little changed from a year earlier, according to Stats NZ household financial statistics spokesperson Victoria Treliving.
Mortgage holders paid an average of 690.9 NZ dollars per week, up 4.9 percent, mainly due to higher interest costs. Renters faced a sharper 9 percent increase, with average weekly payments reaching 505.5 NZ dollars, statistics showed.
"Housing affordability remained challenging for lower-income households in the year ended June 2025," Treliving said, adding that three in five lower-income households making rent or mortgage payments spent 40 percent or more of their income on housing costs. (1 NZ dollar equals 0.6 U.S. dollar) ■