Will’s Word: Is rising house prices the key to economic growth in New Zealand?

I've got a real bone to pick with what Christopher Luxon had to say about housing yesterday. Last week, as I've been harping on for quite some time now, the Reserve Bank cut interest rates again and the banks followed with cheaper mortgages.

For the first time in what feels like forever, first home buyers - those young couples, young families, those lucky enough to be in a position to buy a home - had a moment to breathe because interest rates were cut.

House prices remain pretty flat in this country, even dropping in places in Auckland and Wellington. For once, it felt like maybe people who've been locked out for years could genuinely step onto the ladder.

But then you had old mate Luxon yesterday come out and say he wants "modest" and "consistent" house prices increases.

I'm sorry, but how out of touch can you be? It's no secret Pacific people already have some of the lowest home ownership rates in this country, it's been well canvassed on this show. Generations have been stuck paying rising rents while wages barely move.

The way I put it is, in some ways, Pacific people have been consigned to a life of renting. The dream of owning your own home, the thing that gives families security, stability, even pride, continues to slip away.

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So when old mate Luxon says he wants prices to rise, what he's really saying is, that glimmer of hope you're holding onto? Forget it. That's my view on it. He says wages will grow faster than house prices, but come on.

We're talking about New Zealand at the moment. History tells us the opposite. House prices always go too far and wages always limp behind in this country. Before you know it, another bubble has blown up, leaving first-home buyers even further behind.

It leaves us with the question, in the middle of a housing crisis, is this really the kind of rhetoric we want to hear from our Prime Minister? Economic growth aside, is this really what we want to hear from Luxon? I'd argue not.

That's Will's Word.