Migrants accounted for more than 10% of New Zealand home purchases last year.
The latest home transfer figures from Statistics NZ show that 11.2% of dwelling transfers (purchases) last year were to people with a NZ residence visa.
Those numbers have increased steadily from 7.8% of the market in 2017 when Statistics NZ began compiling the figures.
On the other side of the property coin, residence visa holders accounted for just 4.5% of dwelling sales in 2022, and that market share has remained comparatively stable at between 4.0% and 5.0% from 2017 to 2022.
Those figures suggest migrants are accounting for a steadily increasing share of NZ's residential property market.
The numbers could increase significantly over the next few years because in 2021/22 the Government fast-tracked residence visas for around 165,000 migrants who were already in NZ on work visas, making them more likely to enter the housing market.
Migrant activity has been most heavily concentrated in the Auckland region, where residence visa holders accounted for 18.3% of dwelling purchases last year and 7.7% of sales, followed by Canterbury with 10.5% of purchases and 3.6% of sales, and Wellington with 9.0% of purchases and 2.6% of sales.
Migrants were least active in the West Coast property market where residence visa holders accounted for just 3.3% of purchases and 1.4% of sales last year.
Note: The Stats NZ figures only include residential properties with a dwelling on them, ie, they exclude vacant land. The figures include all property transfers, which will include some transfers where a sale was not involved, such as transfers as part of a deceased's estate or as part of a marriage settlement.
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22 Comments
In 2003 I arrived in NZ and fortunately had a builder friend who warned me about leaky homes. I noticed in the local newspaper over the next few years how many of the worst had been sold to immigrants. I remember one family from the UK who arrived when I did; spent over half a million on a new house (my weatherboard '60s place cost $300k); after a couple of years of legal costs and sick children they had to knock it down.
I wonder how many of these immigrant families have properties with $1m mortgages that will be renegotiated in the next year or two? Did they get any advice from INZ or did their advice only come from our enthusiastic media, bankers and real estate agents?
I also arrived at around that time, and marvelled at these wonderful, exotic, funky stucco / plaster houses and nearly bought one that I later found was a terrible leaker. Luckily a standard board and batten cottage took my heart.
But I have heard that many ex-pats got taken in in the early 2000s and ended up shelling out over the odds for a sponge on the North Shore.
Let’s focus on helping the good people of Auckland - many of whom are now in a state of despair. And remember, not everyone carries house/ contents insurance.
In my modest rental abode, water was flowing from the light fittings in the ceilings and electricity was out for 48 hours. BUT, my neighbours on both sides were far worse off…….
TTP
I thought you lived in Palmy.
Who told you that, Duckie? 🤔
Source?
TTP
Housemouse seems to think everyone lives somewhere they don't.
I got Hamilton and I don't even own a Metallica T-shirt.
Bad timing for them, the period when owning a house was a magic money tree has finished.
I imagine they bought on the advice of from real estate agents
Whats your experience and knowledge to make such wide statements
Im waiting on my invite to a private yacht paid for by shorting property.
Interesting to see that 11.2% of ‘dwelling transfers’ last year were to people with residence visas, while only 4.5% of dwelling sales were. Increased occurrence of intra-family transfers in migrant communities?
I just had some boomer tell me that immigration does not affect NZ house prices, lol...
... he's correct ... it doesn't , just so long as we have a fully functioning competitive building industry & an efficient consents process ....
This is correct but would add proper investment in planning and infrastructure by Govt/Council. Its only when we leave the immigration tap running while the infrastructure and construction tap is off do we find ourselves in the situation of the last 10 years. Add cheap credit into that and the expectation of ever-increasing property prices and you have a bubble.
I saw an immigrant family get pushed to the extent of their budget by agents at an auction last year. They were only bidding against the owner, Don't ever disclose your budget!
The owner (or vendor) is not allowed to bid nor are any representatives of the vendor. Good story though.
Pretty sure vendor bids are allowed. I just think that they have to be declared.
they are declared, however, I don't know weather the buyers completely understood what was going on.
Yes, vendors are allowed to bid but their bids must be clearly declared as vendor's bids. Also, these bids are only allowed, to get the bidding started, not to bid up a legitimate purchaser
Vendors and their representatives can bid up to the reserve price.
That house is worth 20% less than they purchased for (Lower Hutt)
Not what I'd call a good story though
GOOD
That means they're putting down roots here and raising families, instead of using us as a gateway to Australia.
Always wondered what a migrant looks like.
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