Winston Peters was not going to be lured into saying he wanted New Zealand house prices drop in yesterday's post-cabinet press conference - and he let the reporter know in no uncertain terms.
The 40-year political veteran, and acting PM, was asked whether he wanted to see house prices drop in order to ease the housing crisis and make property ownership easier for the average Kiwi.
The NZ First leader's answer was tactful.
"If you're asking the question, is our long-term objective first home buyers, couples, can obtain their first home in a way that's affordable without the serious desperation that I'm seeing today, paying 65 per cent of their weekly wage just to secure the mortgage, the rates and the insurance," Mr Peters said.
"This is so stressful it must be having an affect on society. If you asking me do I want to see us dramatically improve that, yes I do.
"Am I going to answer your question? No I'm not that naive, so you can run off and say Mr Peters said house prices should fall.
"Look please give us a bit of credit, we didn't come down in the last shower - but I'm giving you my long-term aspiration."
On June 19, TradeMe reported the average asking price for a house rose slightly nationwide to a record high since April last year.
The price is up 0.8 per cent to $645,900 nationally, but in Auckland the price fell slightly, dropping $350 to $918,650.
Six regions recorded record high asking prices in May, including Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, Taranaki, Wellington, Northland and Bay of Plenty.
Property prices in Wellington climbed 3.2 per cent in May from April, up a total of 10 per cent since last year to $589,600.
SHARE ME