It found that Tauranga\u2019s median property value was 7.8 times the median gross household income in the second quarter of 2026.<\/p>\n
This was down from a peak of 11.7 in late 2021 and below Tauranga\u2019s long-term average of 8.2.<\/p>\n
Cotality Housing Affordability measures. Graphic \/ Cotality<\/p>\n
A median home in Auckland is worth 7.2 times household income, 6.7 in Christchurch, 6.3 in Hamilton and 6.1 in Dunedin. Wellington is the lowest at 5.5 times income.<\/p>\n
Tauranga\u2019s mortgage payments remain the highest among the main centres, taking 47% of gross median household income, though that is below Tauranga\u2019s long-term average of 52%.<\/p>\n
In Auckland, that figure is 43% of household income, and in Wellington it is 33%.<\/p>\n
Cotality chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said Tauranga remained expensive compared with other parts of New Zealand, but it was more affordable relative to its own history.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo in the real world, then, one way to talk about it is to say that Tauranga remains a relatively expensive market.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut for Tauranga locals, it may not feel as expensive as in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cotality chief property economist Kelvin Davidson. Photo \/ Peter Meecham<\/p>\n
Aside from a short period in early 2020, he said affordability had not looked this good on a sustained basis since 2015-16.<\/p>\n
Davidson said Tauranga\u2019s housing market could be more influenced by wealth and equity, with buyers moving from elsewhere bringing existing wealth into the market. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo looking at affordability measures based on income will always tend to look a bit more inflated, because wealth is the thing propping up or driving house prices.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said this did not mean Tauranga was inaccessible to local buyers. <\/p>\n
Davidson said first-time home buyers have made up 24% of market activity so far in 2026, compared with the long-term average of 17%. They had never been above 20% before 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cHouse prices have already dropped, and affordability for local people on local incomes is at least a lot better than before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Priority One chief executive Dave Courtney. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Priority One chief executive Dave Courtney said Tauranga\u2019s affordability problem came down to both housing costs and local incomes. <\/p>\n
He said Tauranga had experienced sustained population and economic growth, but housing and infrastructure had not always kept pace. <\/p>\n
Tauranga\u2019s unaffordability made it harder for businesses to attract and retain workers, particularly young people, those starting their careers, and lower- to middle-income workers. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor employers competing nationally for skilled people, the overall proposition matters \u2014 salary, career opportunities, housing, transport and quality of life all contribute to whether someone chooses to come here and, importantly, whether they can stay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Courtney said there was no single fix; more housing, infrastructure, and continued growth in incomes through productivity, skills, innovation, and investment were needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, a successful growing region has to remain a place where the people who work here can afford to live here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tauranga Mayor Mahe Drysdale. Photo \/ Alex Cairns<\/p>\n
Tauranga Mayor Mahe Drysdale said it was encouraging to see housing affordability improving, though it remained one of the city\u2019s biggest challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cTauranga has been one of New Zealand\u2019s fastest-growing cities for many years because it is such a desirable place to live, work and raise a family, which has driven strong demand for housing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Drydale said the demand had not always been matched by the infrastructure needed to support it, contributing to housing supply constraints and higher costs.<\/p>\n
He said the council\u2019s planning, guided by the SmartGrowth strategy and its Long-term Plan, focused on intensification, higher-density development, and greenfield growth, alongside investment in infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\u201cTauranga is an attractive place to live, learn, work, and play, so it will continue to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harcourts Tauranga managing director Simon Martin. Photo \/ George Novak<\/p>\n
Harcourts Tauranga managing director Simon Martin said he expected Tauranga to remain among New Zealand\u2019s least affordable main centres because of \u201cwhat it has to offer\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said Tauranga had a wide range of property prices, from more affordable homes to high-value coastal properties around Mount Maunganui.<\/p>\n
Those higher-priced homes helped push up the city\u2019s median house price, which could keep Tauranga looking less affordable compared with other centres, Martin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019ve got coastal beachfront houses which are so close to a major city, the values are going to be higher in that marketplace.\u201d <\/p>\n
Tauranga\u2019s housing affordability \u2014 by the numbers <\/p>\n
Tauranga\u2019s median property value is $953,546, compared with a median annual household income of $122,887.<\/p>\n
A 20% deposit now takes 10.3 years to save, down from 15.6 years in 2021 and below the 11\u2011year average.<\/p>\n
Rent absorbs 30% of gross median household income, slightly above Tauranga\u2019s long-term average of 29%.<\/p>\n
Zoe Blake is a multimedia journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It found that Tauranga\u2019s median property value was 7.8 times the median gross household income in the second…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":606919,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[30966,7503,72,133853,18724,113,11984,61,87492,5493,60,12269,463,28978,152261,8440,14189,72760,331,9450,82157],"class_list":["post-606918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-affordable","tag-better","tag-business","tag-centre","tag-despite","tag-economy","tag-getting","tag-ie","tag-improvements","tag-in","tag-ireland","tag-is","tag-its","tag-least","tag-main","tag-new","tag-still","tag-tauranga","tag-the","tag-zealand","tag-zealands"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/606919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}