Anne Gibson  Property editor of the NZ Herald  Why house prices
are up and ownership is down  House prices are up, home
ownership is down. We all know the story, but what's really
going on in real estate? Property editor Anne Gibson checks out
a new report on the state of the market, by Shamubeel Eaqub.
New Zealand house prices are very high, compared to history and
globally, according to a new report. Photos / NZ Herald.  Blame
it on the Kiwi culture of home ownership and housing investment.
Blame it on the tax system. Blame it on easy access to mortgage
finance.  Watch: Bruce Patten on house prices   Whatever culprit
you choose, the result is the same - high house prices, compared
to our incomes, compared to rents and compared to other
countries.  "There is no easy fix to New Zealand's overvalued
housing market," says Shamubeel Eaqub, principal economist at
the NZ Institute of Economic Research.  In an 11-page chapter in
the latest issue of the journal Housing Finance International,
he has analysed how thi