The controversial Overseas Investment Amendment Bill has passed its third reading with 65 votes for and 57 against and will become law in a matter of weeks

So 'little ole NZ' politicians have had the strength of character to pass a bill that every other Western government should have done, but lacked the Kahunas to do...

The boss has only been back at work a week, god bless her... she's got bigger balls and more firepower than the cumulative offerings of the last administration..

This is exactly why we need this law. I hate to see our young people not able to afford housing in their country of birth. I hope you return and are able to give your children the things that you enjoyed as a youngster.

Ngrrk

Have a good holiday and we'll see you at Christmas.

There are still many hurdles to go. We're still handing out residency to fake students, chefs, taxi drivers, family members etc.
Land banking still tax free.
Covenants.
Subdivisions are still held up by RMA issues.
Building consents are slow, expensive and make and inflexible to on site changes.
Low quality building materials are sold at ripoff prices. With our re-invented standards enfored by sloths at the councils who can import anything. Because of all the compliance bullsh!t commodity materials (cement, polystyrene, steel) can be sold at extravagant prices under certified "engineered solutions" like Fletchers' RibRaft. This is supposed to make our houses less higher quality and lower the risk of defects - all it does it put more of our money on the line.
Every single story house still needs scaffolding, certified safety nets, safety consultants, temporary fencing, power tools tested every few months.
Your brand new house will probably come with crap infrastructure too. Expect to filter your own water and repair your car suspension after hitting pot holes.

Now with these costs of all this the home owner must involve all the useless FIRE people to manage the finance and extra risks associated with owning a $500k pile of timber and bricks. Banks, mortgage brokers, conveyancing lawyers, insurance.

If I ever run into you i'll buy you a beer Dan, i like your sense of humour :)

3% of house buyers being foreigners does not preclude 100% of foreign investors only investing if they can buy houses.

I'm sure the pubs around Auckland must be quite full, all those that were speculating on massive price increases over the last couple of years will be hoping that today didn't happen

they had to oppose it due to the amount of Chinese backing the party gets.

Yes, if ever it was a case of opposing for opposing's sake.

There is no housing crisis.

John Key got 20 mill, and their mouth piece on TV the Hoss, got 9 mill. Happy days for them.

Let them eat cake to the masses.

That's why they are sitting in opposition. They are arrogant and failed to listen to NZ. Refusing to acknowledge housing crises and ban foreigners. One good thing this CoL did and only way it was going to be done was to get rid of national and their ACT monkey.
You really have to question whose interests were they looking after and whether there was some backhanders from foriegners.

from the herald article:

Some provisions critical to the operation of the new regime will start immediately following Royal assent, with the new screening requirements commencing within two months of Royal assent.

So about three months.

Totally agree. But most other markets like Australia, Canada and Singapore have been much more sensible by increasing stamp duty on foreign buyers, not sending a very negative and non business focused message of a ban. A ban is the wrong message NZ should be sending to the world. The message should be we have a premium product and if you want a piece, you’ll need to pay and maintain it. Those tax earnings should go directly to infrastructure projects. Labour is short sighted and anti business.

Absolutely agree. Actually probably better to do it now, seeing as prices have softened, the effect won't be as marked, but it should help if they loosen the strings as you said.

The speculators will hopefully run away

Isn't that already locked in.. to be removed from next year

Bring in dti. Approx x5 would be a start and plan to wind back.

shows what an amateur he is, to contradict himself on the same day based on information that has been telegraphed for months is sad to say the least

Not sure how you can hold your job tomorrow when you are senior economist who is quoted in two completely different directions within 24 hours...... all it highlights is that the bank he represents cannot be trusted to act in their clients best interests, or are exposed nude when the tide goes out.. it's probably not his fault but it's so disingenuous that it just makes everything smell very fishy,

Previous generations also faced an environment where successive governments had focused on increasing supply, and increasing access to home ownership. That's a part of how NZ achieved its once high rate of home ownership. Check out the book https://www.bwb.co.nz/books/home-truths for some background.

It's simply not true that previous generations did it all on their own two feet, without any government effort to foster home ownership.

You obviously didn't go to the house parties I went to with 3 to 4 people dossing in the same room (good parties though), most worked as builders, teachers, drivers etc and blew there money on the van trip then came home and had kids. Only a rare few were lucky enough to earn big coin.

Handouts, that's a laugh, all they want is affordable vs income, not just them everyone. The prices are out of whack with income.

The time to be in London was the nineties.

I wouldn't go into rebutting this comment, as other commentators seem to be doing a fine job.

The thing is, Millennials are going overseas, and they are chasing better careers, pay, and experiences. The difference is that this time, they might not be able to return in 5-10 years time. Not if the high housing prices, high livings costs, and low wages persist. So by the time they actually think about (or can afford to) come back, the tax base has been well and truly eroded. Noone will be around to pay for the essential services and Super that the Boomers and X'ers will be relying on.

Na, property prices 2 keep falling

I'll watch and wait - happy to leave the "worry" to those that should.

Watch, wait and applaud...

Don't be surprised, it is not a conscience vote. Votes are cast as the party dictates.

Statistics for New Zealand?

We want to trade globally , we want to buy goods and we want to sell goods. Imagine if the next step is for china to say.. We have enough milk production now, New Zealand milk supplies are banned.

Now thankfully that is not the case.

Imagine what would happen next.....

Thanks Noncents. always good to have a supporter of the plan to help close the loopholes!

61C is a good one too. National wouldn't need to repeal the legislation, the appointed minister can just grant exemptions where they see fit.

61C Minister may grant individual exemptions

(1)
The Minister may exempt any transaction, person, interest, right, or assets from the requirement for consent or from the definition of overseas person or associate or associated land.

(2)
See sections 61D (criteria for all exemptions) and 61E (other provisions applying to all exemptions).

(3)
The Minister must publish each exemption granted under subsection (1) on an Internet site maintained by or for the regulator.

Surely to be “ordinarily resident in New Zealand” would require a long term visa? The people washing their money here are not going to be bothered with doing that. They will just move along to the next easy target. This law doesn't have to be water tight, it just needs to make thing harder than other destinations.

Is a "Trust" considered a Qualifying Individual?

4 Who are qualifying individuals and key individuals

(1)This clause defines certain terms for the purposes of an overseas investment in sensitive land that is considered under the commitment to reside in New Zealand test.

(2)A person is a qualifying individual if the person—

(a)is a New Zealand citizen; or

(b)is ordinarily resident in New Zealand; or

(c)is an overseas person who holds a residence class visa granted under the Immigration Act 2009; or

(d)is an overseas person of a type that is specified in regulations made under section 61(1)(ic)

Ignore him. He's an attention seeking idiot who is an expert in precisely nothing.
HIs garbage despoils the worthy Herald content from the likes of Wilson, Dann and O'Sullivan

Hosking strikes me as the sort of guy who’d hold a grudge for life against anybody who speaks the slightest against National.

His twin daughters are almost voting age, imagine if one of them voted Labour.

“I haven’t seen or heard from my Dad in 20 years”

Let me guess the remuwera bidness association expects everybody to pay to structurally upgrade the carpark to be able to safely cope with their customers 2.7 ton Audi Q7 tractors. Perhaps Auckland council should just rip the top level off in the name of Elfin Safety. Wouldn't want Maude getting bonked on the head when one of those tractors falls thru the floor because the entitled owners ignored the weight limit signs.

Thank you Zombie, good work clearing that up. I also saw mention somewhere that people with PR visas had to have been here for more than 6 months before they could buy a property. I think this will stop quite a few. Those who got PR then left and only come back to buy a property with their laundry money.

You may well be blind to think it won't.

On it's own I agree it wouldn't make a lot of difference - but coupled with other changes and legislation - it may well make a significant difference.

Let's see shall we - not over a month or so - but 6 to 12 months should give an idea.

Amen ...

as part of the new bill they gave the OIO full powers to look at who owns all property in NZ, they can now go deeper than LI as to who owns what

Its not what the law says. There is a difference between being a resident for immigration purposes and for tax purposes. As an NZ citizen living overseas I can buy a house in NZ without any intention of returning to NZ. If David Parker thinks he has addressed this from a tax resident perspective he needs to head back to law school

Alex13, one of the reasons may be that a lot of the Eastern cultures have different ways of dealing with family Assets/Wealth and Money. They tend to pass on the assets and money to the kids early on and then those kids look after mum and dad in their old age, wealth is passed on differently. In our society Mum and Dad's wealth is usually of their own creation and is there's until they die, we might get a helping hand now and then for a deposit or Uni fee's etc. This is then given to the Children later on in life but not a lot money is spread when the kids are young(not always). I was in China talking to a local back in June and we were discussing wealth creation. This person had advised that they needed to buy an apartment/house for their Son (just out of Uni) so he could have a stable home for a future family or wife. Then Mum and Dad usually move in in their old age and are looked after by the working kids. So really wealth is passed on earlier in life within a lot of Asian communities (those that have money of course). Not to mention that a lot of these countries don't have a benefit system, so the work ethic is different. Work or starve. In our society so much is given as a handout to the privileged. Many Chinese just work a lot harder and smarter because there culture demands it. Buying Assets abroad like property also has tax benefits for them.

Instead of ranting, try explaining to people how foreign investment in existing residential properties benefits NZ and ordinary Kiwis? It creates no employment, it creates a river of money leaving the country, it removes houses from the market and prevents Kiwis trying to get into homes from doing so, it irrationally pushes property values beyond what ordinary Kiwis can reasonably afford, and it helps parasites to demand exorbitant rents from people who cannot afford them locking them into a poverty trap, and the consequences flow on to child poverty and harm. This ignores the fact that it is likely supporting crime in other countries by providing a mean to launder ill-gotten funds.

You call yourself "The Man"? Try being one - own what you do, accept the consequences of your actions and be a real man and work to the benefit of your community not your wallet!

Anyone referring to themselves as The Man 2 won’t gain any credibility with me
In the big smoke of NYC you’d be sniggered at
The sad unfortunate facts are this restriction will not halt foreigners using their NZ connections to buy up NZ homes at all
This is politics played to appease the electorate & it is inadequate
Shame on Jacinda & Winston for pretending otherwise

I tend to agree with you here TM2. It's just easier for people to whinge and moan about the way things are, rather than making a plan for the future and changing their circumstances no matter the changing landscape, the same people will be moaning years from now and have gone nowhere in the process.

They're not moaning and groaning. They're celebrating.

Bad example. China's own example shows that foreign direct investment does not need to be in buying land.

Also, boomers benefited greatly from successive governments' efforts at increasing supply and increasing access to home ownership. They should not resent present governments' efforts to increase access to home ownership. Goose, gander.

Dear Penfold
Don’t fret
GFC2 is on horizon which will rock the world
I couldn’t afford a house when mortgage interest rates were 23% in NZ either yet some how I’ve managed to own a multitude of properties all over the world so don’t limit yourself
Open your mind to possibilities like Zach has

Hopefully there is something in the Anti Money Laundering laws (acting as a front for a foreign entity without declaring it must be illegal in some way surely?) that will stomp on that.. I wonder if we can then seize the homes under the proceeds of crime act and turn them into state houses/ sell them under kiwi build for twice the win?

It'd send a nice message.. wait 6 months after the law comes in and quietly compile a list of all these fraudulent purchases, then go serve seizure notices on about 80 odd of them all at once and very publicly.. Nice front page article on how NZ will not tolerate this sort of behaviour and thanks for the 80 new state houses/ busy day at the auction room with the proceeds going into funding kiwibuild.

Probably not. It's just part of closing the loophole. It stops the actual honest foreign buyers.

Foreign Buyer Ban stops the actual direct foreign buyers.

AML rules reduces the cash buyers buying on other's behalf who suddenly have a lump sum from Uncle Whoever wired to their account.

2016 Non-Resident Borrowers changes by the banks: banks changed their lending criteria for non resident borrowers. (Although I'm sure there are still gaps). Tackles the drip-feed payments from Uncle Overseas masquerading as overseas income on a mortgage application. This is also probably related to the strict AML requirements banks need to meet.

Why? This only impacts 3% of buyers.

The other foreign money loopholes have already been tackled by the lending Banks and by the RBNZ over the last few years.

Let alone the Chinese Capital Flight restrictions which have been in place for several years.

As well, new builds are exempt.

almost there only 3 or 4 years to go

Hate to burst your bubble but nation and state are not the same things. Most states are made up of several (or more) nations (ethnicities)- the most homogeneous nation state is probably North Korea and who would want to live there?

As for the 22 years "they'll" be owning half of "our" country. How long did it take whitey to steal/own half NZs land in the 19th century? Process has been going on for at least about 180 years. Imagine if the Moari had a foreign buyer ban written into the Treaty in 1840. Where would all those immigrants have lived I wonder.

The question I'd like to know the answer to is why are Aussies and Singaporeans excluded? I guess it will to back to our Anzac roots but Aussies probably make up 1/2 of foreign buyers but are showing kiwis no favours over there and as for Singapore? Why the special privilege there?

Craig

It won't be a huge difference, the Chinese govt turning off the money tap already took most of the heat out the market, but it will help keep things subdued.

It is not politics. It is called bilateral agreements. China doesn't allow kiwis to buy property in China but Australia does, and we are just reciprocating.

So NZ is Xenophobic and Racist to all nations in the world interesting, why not chuck Martians in there as well. Here I thought NZ didn't want people to own land in NZ who are not contributing to NZ, or who are not NZers. Why don't we just put a big for sale sign on NZ instead of muskets and blankets, we are for sale for cash, get with the times.

Now that we are for Sale can you please stop calling us nasty names. Please buy up all our houses and make our houses so unaffordable that our children and their children cant buy property. But hey who cares about them, who cares about NZ, at least alpappy doesn't think we are Xenophobic and Racist.

In absence of real economic prospect in real businesses, banks will continue to primarily lend this money to NZ population so desperate to buy a first, second or tenth house, who will use it to outbid their fellow kiwi and inflating the prices in the process.

Except we are already running out of local buyers at this price level, and the banks are already restricted on the amount they can lend in terms of LVR. So this pretty much limits the rate of house price inflation to the rate that people can save a 20% deposit and meet serviceability criteria. And with the capital gains on property capped in this way and ring fencing of negative gearing there aren't going to be a whole lot of people that are going to want to rent houses at 3% gross yeilds for years on end. (And if rents go up, then the rate at which people can save for the deposit drop. Its a self regulating negative feedback loop).

PS:Please use white space, these wall of text posts are highly likely to be ignored by many readers.