Fitch: Auckland Property-Price Surge Stumps First-Home Buyers

(The following statement was released by the rating agency)Link to Fitch Ratings' Report: Asia-Pacific Structured Finance Chart of the Month – July 2016https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=885746SYDNEY, July 29 (Fitch) First-home buyers are finding it more difficult to secure a dwelling in Auckland as income growth lags house-price gains, a trend that Fitch Ratings believes will cause this group of purchasers to constitute a smaller part of the housing market.Average house prices in Auckland had increased nominally by 72% in the four years to June 2016, making it difficult for first-home buyers to come up with enough funds to pay a deposit.In June 2016, a typical deposit of 10% for an average dwelling in the Auckland region was equivalent to 1.68x the average annual earnings of a single borrower (June 2012: 1.05x); that is much higher than the national average (1.10x). Affordability is stronger in the region of Wellington, where the deposit-to-income ratio was 0.87x as of June 2016, and has been stable averaging 0.83x in the past 12 years.The full report, which is part of Fitch's "Asia-Pacific Structured Finance Chart of the Month" series that highlights topical issues in the region, can be found at www.fitchratings.com.Contacts:James ZanesiDirector+612 8256 0306Fitch Australia Pty Ltd Level 15, 77 King Street, Sydney, NSW 2000Brenden Asplin, CFAAssociate Director, Structured Finance+612 8256 0340Media Relations:Leslie TanAdditional information is available on www.fitchratings.comALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S FREE WEB SITE AT WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA, AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE, AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE CODE OF CONDUCT SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. Fitch Australia Pty Ltd holds an Australian financial services licence (AFS licence no. 337123) which authorises it to provide credit ratings to wholesale clients only. Credit ratings information published by Fitch is not intended to be used by persons who are retail clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001.