Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett has admitted there are more people homeless in New Zealand than there was when National took office.

But she says the reasons for that tell a "positive story".

Speaking to The AM Show on Friday, Ms Bennett said New Zealand's quick recovery from the global financial crisis (GFC) and the growing threat of terrorism overseas has seen people flock to our shores.

"New Zealanders decided they wanted to come back to New Zealand and stay here, so as a consequence we've had more people in this country pretty much in a really short period of time, and that has put pressure on the housing market - there's no two ways about it," she said.

But Statistics New Zealand data shows in the last 40 years, there has not been a single year in which more Kiwis came home than left.

The exodus peaked in 2012, which saw a net 39,507 New Zealanders depart. It's since recovered to a net outflow of 1284 Kiwis. On a net basis, most immigrants in 2017 have been from China, India, the UK and the Philippines.