The success of New Zealand’s housing policy reforms with Stuart Donovan & Peter Tulip

Over the past decade, New Zealand’s policy reforms had fuelled a housing construction boom. This was estimated to have reduced rents by 28% in Auckland and by 21% in Lower Hutt, relative to what they would have been otherwise.

In new CIS research released in February 2025, Stuart Donovan discussed the reforms and their impact on young people, affordability, and their relevance to Australia. Shortly after the release of this work, Stuart spoke with CIS Chief Economist and housing expert Peter Tulip via Zoom.

The research, titled Less Crowded Houses: NZ’s Housing Policy Success and Implications for Australia, is available here: https://www.cis.org.au/publication/less-crowded-houses-the-success-of-nzs-housing-policy-reforms-and-implications-for-australia/.