New Zealand had a seasonally adjusted net gain of 1700 migrants in May 2013, which was the highest monthly gain since January 2010, according to Statistics New Zealand.
In the year to May 2013 New Zealand had a net migration gain of 6200, compared with a net loss of 3700 in the May 2012 year.
The main reason for the turn-around is the fact that fewer Kiwis are heading off to Australia.
The seasonally adjusted net loss of 1900 migrants to Australia in May 2013 was the smallest net loss since July 2010 (1600). The latest net loss to Australia was well down on the recent high of 3,600 recorded in September 2011.
Auckland, Canterbury, and Otago were the only regions that had net gains of international migrants. The Canterbury region's net gain of 2,600 migrants in the May 2013 year compared with a net loss of 2,500 in the May 2012 year, following the Christchurch earthquake in February 2011.
ASB economist Daniel Smith said the migration inflow is likely to continue as the Canterbury rebuild drives an improvement in NZ’s labour market.
"Stronger migration inflows will place more pressure on supply-constrained housing markets in some areas of the country. This is especially true in Christchurch. However, the number of migrants arriving in Auckland has not lifted significantly over the last two years, and so does not appear to be a large driver of house price increases in that region."
Westpac senior economist Felix Delbruck said a positive net migration trend is now well entrenched, and seems set to strengthen further as employment conditions in Australia continue to soften and the Canterbury rebuild draws in more migrants.
"At the margin this will boost domestic demand and the housing market, though low interest rates remain by far the biggest driver of the current housing upswing."
Meanwhile, May was a bumper month for tourism, with 153,000 short-term visitor arrivals - the highest ever for a May, and up 9% on the same month a year ago.
"The latest visitor number was easily the highest ever for a May month," population statistics manager Andrea Blackburn said.
The increase in May 2013 was mainly due to more visitors from Australia (up 8,000) and China (up 3,900).
In the year ended May 2013, there were 2.628 million visitors, up less than 1% from the previous year.
This year's increase was despite visitor numbers in the May 2012 year being boosted by the Rugby World Cup.
New Zealand residents departed on 182,400 overseas trips in May 2013. This was up 2% from May 2012, and was also a record for a May month.
In the May 2013 year, New Zealand residents departed on 2.163 million overseas trips, up 2% from the previous year. The biggest increase was in trips to the United States (up 15,200), helped by a more favourable currency exchange rate.
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