Each week BusinessDesk and the NZ Herald's Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it's whether a business could be a better option than a first home. Hosted by Frances Cook.

A catch cry for years now has been that first home buyers feel locked out of any opportunity to buy their own home. 

There is a change in the air, for sure, with house prices now falling for the first time in years. 

The latest figures from the REINZ House Price Index show prices are down 7.1% in the last year, and national prices fell $40,000 in just the last month. 

But it's still pretty expensive overall, with the national median house price at $810,000 dollars in July. 

Well, some people think they've got an alternative way for young people to secure their financial future. 

The argument goes that you should buy a business instead, giving yourself a different kind of asset, and the possibility of dramatically increasing your income. 

Would it work? Maybe. 

For the latest podcast, I talked to Chris Small, managing director of ABC Business Sales.

If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here Instagram here and Twitter here

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