Samoan People in New Zealand

Tenure

• In 2001, 27 percent of Samoan people aged 15 years and over stated that they owned or partly owned their own home – similar to the level of 26 percent for the Pacific population. The comparable figure for the New Zealand population was 55 percent.
• Samoan men (27 percent) were slightly more likely than Samoan women (25 percent) to own the home in which they lived.
• Samoan people in the older age groups had a higher home ownership rate than their younger counterparts. In 2001, 56 percent of Samoans aged between 45 and 64 years owned their own home, whereas among those aged between 25 and 44 years the equivalent proportion was 27 percent.
• Samoans born overseas were more likely to own their own home (33 percent) than New Zealand-born Samoan people (19 percent). The older age structure of the overseas-born Samoan population is a contributing factor to this difference.

Rental housing

• The proportion of Samoan people living in rental accommodation increased from 48 percent in 1991 to 54 percent in 1996 and to 60 percent in 2001. Conversely, the proportion of the Samoan population living in dwellings owned (with or without a mortgage) by a member of the household decreased from 52 percent in 1991 to 46 percent in 1996 and to 40 percent in 2001.
• The trend away from home ownership mirrors the national situation with the proportion of the New Zealand population living in rental housing increasing from 25 percent in 1991 to 33 percent in 2001.
• Among those Samoans living in rental accommodation, 46 percent were living in Housing New Zealand accommodation in 2001 – a decrease from 60 percent in 1996. Proportionately more overseas-born Samoan people living in rental housing were in Housing New Zealand accommodation than those born in New Zealand (52 percent and 41 percent respectively).
• Of those Samoans living in rented accommodation in 2001, almost half (49 percent) were living in households paying less than $150 a week. By comparison, the equivalent proportion for the New Zealand population was 38 percent.
• The levels of weekly rent paid by Samoan people are similar to the Pacific population, as figure 9.2 shows.