Holly Tipene says home ownership was her life-long dream, but she was stuck in a "generational rut". In March 2018, home ownership was at its lowest in almost 70 years. Since then the median price has almost doubled and rent is up by a quarter. Stuff Holly Tipene's mother and grandmother spent their entire lives in rentals. Until recently, she had resigned herself to also never owning a home, and having nothing to pass on to her three children. Tipene works as a housekeeper at a Waikato University hall of residence and her husband Kere Tipene is a delivery driver, but despite both working full time and having enough to pay rent, the ability to build a deposit and secure a mortgage was always beyond reach.