The Waikato Wellbeing Project has released its most comprehensive look yet at housing affordability in our region. This webinar will present the key findings of the report Hiding in Plain Sight: The Real Cost of Housing in Waikato, exploring how housing has shifted from being a foundation for thriving whānau to one of the most significant barriers to wellbeing.
Hosted by Harvey Brookes and Presented By Quanita Ali, Datanomics
Join us as we unpack:
- The widening income–housing gap, where median house prices far outpace household incomes.
- Rising rental pressure and the disproportionate impact on low-income, Māori, and Pacific whānau.
- Spatial inequality across Hamilton, South Waikato, Thames-Coromandel, and other sub-regions.
- The deposit dilemma, showing how saving for a first home is stretching from 13 years today to as many as 28 years by 2045.
- The human cost of unaffordable housing—on health, wellbeing, and community resilience.
- Who we are really building for, and why most new housing supply misses the mark for ordinary families.
- The systemic changes needed to restore affordability and equity, and what a genuine path forward could look like.
This session will combine data insights, lived experience, and regional perspectives to shine a light on the true cost of housing in Waikato—and spark conversation about what needs to change.
