NZ did however managed COVID well-enough in part achieved through some of the harshest lockdowns in the world and the fact that NZ has a small low density population with relatively few international ports.
I don't doubt that home affordability got worse over the pandemic as interest rates plunged which allowed people to borrow (and spend!) more money. Over the pandemic home prices went up pretty much world wide.
That being said I've been seeing tweets from housing activists noting that home construction has massively spiked since the zoning reforms were introduced. That will create more housing choice and make renters lives less miserable as these homes complete. It sets the stage for prices to be able to stagnate and rise below inflation in the future.
I'm not a kiwi so watching this from afar, but that trend looks very promising.