Many readers say last week’s announcement will have little impact on their – or their children’s – ability to buy a house

Last week we asked Guardian readers about the government’s attempt to rein in New Zealand’s runaway house prices. We heard from investors and renters, first-home buyers and retirees. While some readers – including investors – were supportive, many felt the policy changes didn’t go far enough.

Some pointed out that beefed-up grants to first-home buyers would make little impact in markets such as Wellington and Auckland, with young people still despairing of ever getting a foot on the housing ladder. Many said that the effect on renters had been overlooked, arguing in favour of German-style rent control. Others said they were afraid for their children’s future, while some wrote that they feared they would never be able to afford children.

With prices soaring, many fear they will never be able to buy. Others will try anything as the crisis threatens to define a generation

On finding herself shut out of the property market, Nicole Thorburn looked for a side door.

At 29, Thorburn had been living with her parents for seven years to save for a deposit on her first home in Thames, a small town on the Coromandel Peninsula south-east of Auckland – but the pandemic has sent already buoyant prices skyrocketing.