Foreign buyers purchased 714 New Zealand homes in the year to March and sold 1473 over the same period

Yep its a "thanks for all the fish" moment.

My view is foreign buyers (and I was someone who spent a lot of time being out-bid by them) were influential not by their volume but by their market-making and price setting.

I witnessed many times participants in auctions not just being out-bid by small increments but lots won by 10k increments. Worse yet when they started to bid against each other the whole average of the market was incremented without too much concern for comps' or valuations.

Too bad IRD isn't standing at the door clipping the ticket with a properly-functioning bright-line test regime.

Exactly they are not mugs

But, but, but AC has been saying that prices will double again within a couple of years - that's why everyone is still jumping into property boots and all. So what do you mean 'peak'??

1. Australian and Singaporean nationals are exempt from the ban due to clauses in our FTAs with their countries.

Also, developers are allowed to sell a part of their new-build stock to foreign investors with OIO exemptions.

2. Yeah right - good luck chasing up those foreign investors weeks after the sale proceeds have been transferred to an overseas account.

Wouldn't it be easier to tax every seller on their capital gains at the point of sale and get them to file returns for a refund, passing both the compliance costs and the headache on to the seller?

Labour usually have more loopholes than a swiss cheese in anything they implement. 80% of people going through MIQ don't pay a cent. But who cares when you can just print, borrow, and oggle your ample slush-find.

2. Are the ones selling paying tax on the gains?

I had a friend who sold recently, they were within the existing bright line. I asked if they were paying the tax. they laughed.

I'm not too sure how IRD will monitor this but I would guess les than half of the tax due is being collected for the current CGT on house.

one must remember that certain cultures do not see paying tax as a requirement if it can be easily avoided.

People making comments here by assumption not facts. All oversea purchaser who sold their property in NZ would require to pay a withholding tax (33% of the profit or 10% of the sales price whichever is lower). There's simply no tax loophole here and it is up to the oversea seller who could claim these tax back later by an application and proof of why you don't pay tax

People making comments here by assumption not facts. All oversea purchaser who sold their property in NZ would require to pay a withholding tax (33% of the profit or 10% of the sales price whichever is lower). There's simply no tax loophole here and it is up to the oversea seller who could claim these tax back later by an application and proof of why you don't pay tax

Foreign buyers selling up and Westpac selling up.....it must mean that Kiwi's buying in now stand to make massive capital gains. It all depends on how you read the tea leaves I guess.

That's what Robertson and Ardern want isn't it?

Foreign money has an impact but yes the real reason is the amount of money banks are lending out. Always surprises me how much we go after govt, reserve bank, investors, foreigners.. this harmful price inflation is 95% up to the banks and their lending decisions.

I will jump the gun and answer that on behalf of others : NO.

We are not blaming the foreigners, we are blaming the governments which allow this happen. Foreign investors definitely brought a huge impact to our property market. They pushed the price up and create the momentum. The price back then maybe not as crazy as now, but because that momentum, locals are now on board and buying out of FOMO. I've heard lots of stories that foreign students came to study, they bought houses or apartments during their first year in Uni and sell them after they graduate and left the country. Guess what? The money they made out of it literally paid their tuition fees and cost of living for the period of their stay.

But as others have mentioned the data doesn't cover trusts etc.
For those who solely blame foreigners, that's just dumb. However there's no doubt in my mind that foreign investors have been a very significant factor over the last 10 years.
Probably not as much of a factor as domestic investors though.

The problem was not the 4,000 houses per annum bought by non citizens and non residents. The problem was the effect of a net 500k people coming to live in NZ in the space of ten years,

Not true, prices have stopped rising like they were a few months ago. Agree foreigners are not the only ones to blame but still affect the market since they can purchase new builds.

As pointed out in the article, the stats do not take into account the hidden FB purchases via trusts and business structures.

"watch the speculators tear each other apart"
Like vultures over a rotting carcass ?
Like blood thirsty vampires?
or like green, limbless zombies ?
Is the the image you're going for Chris?

From the Stats website that was the basis of this article (https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/more-overseas-people-selling-than-buying…):

"Why is the number of home transfers to overseas people not zero?

The number of home transfers to overseas people may never be zero due to Overseas Investment Amendment Act 2018 exemptions (for example, some new homes, and Australian and Singaporean buyers).

Some contracts signed before 22 October 2018 may take many months before they are completed and counted in these statistics. Apartments bought off the plans may not be transferred to an overseas buyer until construction is complete years after the contract was signed."

Some poor kiwi can be his debt slave and work for the next 20+ years to pay the $500K gain he's made (via debt...)

Report?

You serious? You do realise and remember the Chinese buyup of NZ started when Helen Clark actively encourged Chinese 'investment' in NZ real estate when she was in power. Remember the plane loads of Chinese 'investors' landing, getting onto tour buses and buying multiple homes as they were being driven around? JK is only guilty of not stopping it. Jacinda is guilty too as she hasnt stopped it either. Lots of weasel words, but still too many loopholes. Buying houses in Auckland, even during Covid, I can assure you the 'foreign buyers' are still buying, all they need is one NZ agent or trust that has a link to citizenship or residency. Govt stats (all parties) have always downplayed the amount of foreign money pushing up house prices.

Lol
- Front of the queue
- Hard and early
- That guy was a rapist
- Spoke too definitively
- No CGT on my watch
- Gold standard contact tracing
- Border workers are regularly tested
- Border workers are definitely being tested
- Infected border workers are to blame for not being tested
- That KFC worker was told to isolate at home by the MoH......(No)
- No new taxes this term
- Shovel Ready projects
- Vaccination strategy is to move this slow on purpose
- We have a plan
- There is no agreement on Ihumatao land...

and my favourite
- We'll build 10,000 houses a year for 10 years