Is it getting more expensive to live in New Zealand? That depends on who you ask. New data from Stats NZ measures the cost of living through household living cost price indexes, comparing inflation between 13 different groups.
In the third quarter of 2019, the highest-spending households experienced a quarterly inflation rate of only 0.4 percent – the lowest rate measured between population groups. A concurrent fall in mortgage interest payments was a welcome benefit. The average inflation rate for all other households was measured at 0.7 percent.
Mortgage interest payments fell by 2.7 percent from June to September 2019, which saw a 6.2 percent decrease from last year. In terms of annual inflation rates, high-spending households have consistently been the lowest for the past three years, when compared to the rest of the population.
Superannuitant households saw council rates rise by 5 percent. They also encountered an inflation rate of 2.1 percent annually, while beneficiaries experienced a 1.9 percent inflation rate. People who own their houses are more affected by higher council rates than those who rent.
For the past 11 years, the cost of living has increased by 1.6 percent across all households.
For as long as this type of data has been collected, people with higher incomes had the smallest increase in their cost of living each year, with only a 1.2 percent annual rise. For those who bought a house in the past 10 years, the value has gone up by 50 to 100 percent while the average mortgage rate has halved.