Economic Analysis - Predicting Māori Home Ownership

There are significant positive associations between home ownership and wellbeing, however, Māori are experiencing significant declines in home ownership. Using the Christchurch Health and Development Study cohort, we analysed a range of variables to determine their effect on Māori home ownership. These variables are described at a high level by the outer ring of the diagram. From a wide range of variables, we isolated five which best predicted home ownership by age 35 in the Māori cohort. These five are shown in the centre of the diagram.

Based on these five variables alone, we were able to predict the likelihood that a cohort member would own a house. The chart below breaks down the cohort into five groups ranging from least advantaged (Group ①) to most advantaged (Group ⑤). We see that those in the most advantaged group had rates of home ownership that were more than 8 times higher than those in the least advantaged group.

Contact Jay Whitehead