The New Zealand government has banned the sale of existing homes to foreign buyers, saying New Zealanders were sick of being “tenants in our own land”.

Associate minister of finance David Parker said the ban would mean housing would become more affordable for locals, and supply would increase.

“We think the market for New Zealand homes and farms should be set by New Zealand buyers, not overseas buyers,” said Parker in an interview with the Guardian.

“That is to benefit New Zealanders who have their shoulder to the wheel of the New Zealand economy, pay tax here, have families here. We don’t think they should be outbid by wealthier people from overseas.”

charlie

I used to hear people talk about being able to buy a house on the coast in NZ for $80,000 (US) due to very favorable exchange rates at the time. That was only like 15 years ago I believe. Wasn't sure if it was true but an amazing deal if so. I'm sure real estate values have exploded since then.

Have the Chinese been buying up huge swathes of fertile dairy/farmland in NZ? Are they driving up prices in NZ too?

17 August 2018
A report by the Economist in 2017 found New Zealand had the most unaffordable house prices in the world, with those in Auckland climbing 75% in the past four years, although the market has cooled in recent months.

David Parker, associate finance minister in the centre-left Labour coalition government, has described New Zealanders as “tenants on our own land” and said the “great Kiwi dream of homeownership” is no longer a possibility for many.

Before the ban, New Zealand had become a destination for buyers from Asia and America and gained a reputation as a bolthole for the world’s wealthy, who view it as a haven from a potential nuclear conflict, the rise of terrorism and civil unrest, or simply as a place to get away from it all.

Land sales to foreign buyers boomed under the previous centre-right National government, with 465,863 hectares (1.16m acres) bought in 2016, an almost sixfold increase on the year before. That is the equivalent to 3.2% of farmland in a country of 4.7 million people.
Full article: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/ ... -of-crisis

Can’t the Chinese buy houses by qualifying for permanent residency? They have so many different types of permanent residency that it should be easy.

I suppose the entrepreneur and employee permanent residency would be easiest for most. Open a company or get hired by another Chinese, easy right? So isn’t this just a small price hike?

Wouldn’t it be more efffective to require the money used for purchase be made and taxed in NZ? Problem solved.

In the UK all you need is lots of money, you can steal it from your government, you can get it by selling arms to dictators, dealing drugs, frauding pension funds, you could be a murdering war lord or a russian oligarch. It doesn't matter how you get it we will clean it for you and then if you donate some to a political party we will even give you a british passport.

charlie

tightenupvolume1 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 18, 2018 3:57 pm In the UK all you need is lots of money, you can steal it from your government, you can get it by selling arms to dictators, dealing drugs, frauding pension funds, you could be a murdering war lord or a russian oligarch. It doesn't matter how you get it we will clean it for you and then if you donate some to a political party we will even give you a british passport.

charlie

I've been wondering who was going to be buying all the condos "starting" at 2.2 million they're building at the moment where I live