New research shows the number of non-New Zealanders buying New Zealand homes could be significantly higher than official figures are suggesting.
ASB says this shows the Government’s ban on foreigners buying houses will have a “significant effect on the local property market.”
Last month, Statistics New Zealand released new figures showing that nationally, roughly 3% of all home sales were to overseas buyers over the March 2018 year.
The data included citizenship information or visa status of people transferring property, as well as information on their tax residency.
ASB Senior Economist Mark Smith says although the Stats NZ figures are accurate, they need to be broader when looking at overseas buyers.
“Once you take into account increased migration and offshore holdings from people using companies, it will be much larger than 3%.”
He says a further 8% of purchases were made by New Zealand visa holders, and 10% were purchased by corporate entities – the citizen status of which is unknown.
As such, he says anywhere from 11% to 21% of reported purchases involved a non-NZ citizen, over the March 2018 year.
Trade Minister David Parker says he has not seen ASB’s report but says the 11%-21% number “sounds quite high to me.”
“The statistics we have are incomplete because those that were released a couple of months ago didn’t include some corporate ownership vehicles,” he says.
“So it could well be the actual number was higher than the average that was reported earlier.”
A spokesman for Stats NZ says in numbers, it showed that there were two other groups of buyers who may or may not be from “overseas.”
"They are people who hold a resident visa but are not NZ citizens making up 8% of all home transfers in the March 2018 quarter. There are also “corporates”, who accounted for 9.9% of all home transfers, some of whom may or may not be foreign controlled."
He says Stats NZ chose to primarily focus on the 3.3% of home transfers as this is the most comparable group we have to an “overseas person” as defined in the Overseas Investment Act.
"Stats NZ has been open about these figures and understands there is a grey area, depending on how people define an 'overseas' or 'foreign” buyer.'"
A significant impact
After Stats New Zealand figures were released last month, Trade Minister David Parker said the 3% number vindicated the Government’s foreign ownership ban.
“We want the prices of New Zealand homes, whether it be a lake-side station, the best houses in the Bay of Islands or the most modest homes in our towns and cities, to be set by local buyers not on the international market,” said Parker.
Speaking to reporters after Parliament's Finance and Expenditure Select Committee recommended a watering down of the Overseas Investment Bill, Parker said the ban would not have a significant impact on house prices.
“There will be an effect on prices. Obviously, economically if there is lower demand, there will be a slightly reduced effect on price. But I think that will be at the margins.”
But, given ASB’s numbers, Smith is not so sure.
“All it takes is extra demand at the margin to really have quite a sizeable impact in the market.”
He says the greater participation of overseas buyers in the housing market suggests that the Government’s policy to ban foreign buyers could “potentially generate significant impacts.”
“Policy-makers need to strike the right balance between promoting measures to facilitate dwelling construction and yet ensuring that New Zealand citizens do not get priced out of their domestic housing market.”
147 Comments
If you had a communist government, then you would be trying to get all your money out of your country too. If they buy an over-valued asset and it drops significantly in value, they are still better off than risking loosing all their wealth to their own government. I guess they are diversifying.
Oh come on, overseas speculators have absolutely no influence on property values, here look at my govt. stats. Forget what you see, hear and experience in the market....your a xenophobe if you think otherwise, a nasty little xenophobe...nothing to see here sheeple, sir chong kee said so.
Tell us something new.
Everyone knew except National Leaders(Businessmen) and its supporters (Though they too knew but vested self interested prevented them from accepting the truth as a result followed the policy of Denial, Lie and Manipulation and got honour in NZ)
“All it takes is extra demand at the margin to really have quite a sizeable impact in the market.”
That was my point previously – the overseas buyer was playing at the margin – removing them may not have a large impact on volume, but the impact on the marginal price will be far greater than simply removing the numerical number of sales (whatever it was / is).
I would think areas such as East Coast Bays and a bit of “leafy” stuff may feel some of this down-draught.
MTP & Kate
I'm going to be away for a few days but here's the link you're looking for to find out a mortgage amount and lender MTP. Hope it helps
https://www.linz.govt.nz/land/land-records/order-copy-land-record/land-r...
If the pervious mortgage is available still on file, then a $15 search fee should do the job, type in address and request the mortgage instrument for the property. This is great fun, but be careful, my brother in law still isn't talking to me after I snapped out his boat purchase as being a re-mortgage rather than a bonus... His Mrs put him firmly in the dog house as he'd fed her the same line..
correct they campaigned on a register but have they implemented it no
have they changed the information that needs to be collected no
so what are they up to , why are they now dragging there feet.
surely eight months is plenty of time to implement.
after all how can you make policy without the knowledge, or now they are in power is the knowledge now given to them by the public service which they dont want the people to know in case it causes an uproar either way
"VANCOUVER—In an effort to crack down on tax avoidance, the B.C. government will create a public registry to show who owns real estate in the province.
B.C.’s finance minister says the province has gotten a reputation for being a place to invest anonymously and hide wealth.
“Right now in B.C., real estate investors can hide behind numbered companies, offshore and domestic trusts, and corporations,” said Carole James in a statement. “Ending this type of hidden ownership in real estate will help us fight tax evasion, tax fraud and money laundering.”
The B.C. government says the new registry will be the first of its kind in Canada. Government will have to pass new legislation to enable the registry, and the public can give feedback on the proposed new rules until August 19."
https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2018/06/20/bc-government-will-create-…
Download the property owners list from data.linz.govt.nz
Press [ctrl] + [F] on the keyboard and then type in "Chen". Repeat for "Lin" and "Huang".
Add them together and you've got 25% of the population: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_surname
Now multiply by four.
Search for "trust" and add a quarter of those.
Add a pinch of salt. And a teaspoon of soy sauce. Now you have Bilbo's statistic soup - 90% more accurate than the LINZ tax transfer form.
How the puppeteers have played the people. I do hope that there are calls for treason once we have cleared up the aftermath of the social wreckage the impending banking crisis will have caused. Poor government and poor governance from the regulators . It is the 21st century and these things would have been so easy to monitor and regulate but see no Evil (Key), Speak no evil (English) choose to hear nothing of the truth. National may be looking at a generation in opposition now that the can of worms is all over the ‘overpriced’ living room floor!
A 6.7 square metre (72 square feet) property in Xicheng district (Beijing, near Tiananmen square) was sold this month for a whopping 2.5 million yuan (US$384,500). It has no toilet.
http://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2152013/forget-hon…
I'm unsure as to whether counting all visa holders as foreigners makes sense to me. I know of some PR visa holders that have lived here for 40 years or more. At our citizenship ceremony several years ago, there were a significant number of new citizens that had been in the country for decades before deciding to get their citizenship. I'd be comfortable defining long term permanent resident visa holders as not foreign.
And then the assumption that up to 100% of corporate entities could be foreign so as to get the high end number... a bit gratuitous.
I'm certainly not saying that foreign ownership shouldn't be an issue. It is an issue, particularly in Auckland and a few other select locations. What is germane is the regional or local % foreign purchases and ownership rather than national level figures. One can sweep the issue under the rug with national figures (3% anyone?).
I don't think people have an issue with PRs owning houses. It is the foreign investors who are the problem, i.e. those who have bought residential property (or any other) but do not live here, be they American, British, french Russian or Asian.
The other good thing about what the ASB report does it is doesn't just look at direct ownership, but asks who owns, or is the direct beneficiary of the companies or trusts that are listed as the owners.
And I am very uncomfortable with just using a name as an assessment, such as saying because your name is Lin or Chen then you shouldn't be able to own property. Such xenophobic bigotry is typical of Australians, but does not belong in NZ.
Yep. Leverage can be heartless in reverse, just like the speculators back slaping and squashed advo jokes on the way up. Can you spell margin call as the Aussie banks new ruleset filters in when their royal comission ethics/greed review is finished.
What really suprises me is that this storm has been building for since the gfc printed bail out began but the specuvestors have been blind to it.
Wait and Watch.
Will the Labour government delivers what it promised or will it water down the overseas amendment bill and will know soon, for if not sincere will try to delay the process of passing the bill into law. Though their minister was talking about passing the bill by next month - July with immediate effect.
Wait and Watch.
BRING ON THE BAN .. please.
I really want to see and feel the effect of this BS that has been going on for so long and every man and his dog is crystal glazing into it... So Do It ban them ...
The devil is in the detail ... Aussies are not banned, Nor Singapouriens .. what stops chinese to form companies in either/both countries and buy property here? Nothing ... !! ... I stand corrected by a legal mind about this.
My call is that there will be NO effect at all come March 19 ... but we will see prices gone up by an average of 2-5%.
Hello Mrs The Point,
You write "you sound like my other family member tothepint" , I have been on these forums for quite some time now and have not found a "tothepint". I can only imagine you have made a very embarrassing spelling mistake!!!!! Very embarrassing indeed !!!!!!
TPM
Hello Mrs The Point,
You write "you sound like my other family member tothepint" , I have been on these forums for quite some time now and have not found a "tothepint". I can only imagine you have made a very embarrassing spelling mistake!!!!! Very embarrassing indeed !!!!!!
TPM
If you start to understand the math and impact of the marginal then this is what drives the market price I think. Even 3% is an impact if its double that or more like treble then the impact is huge and taking it our will be huge. The problem for the Government is taking 6% or more out of the market could well cause a recession and cause voters (FHBers) to loose money.
If you want to see that effect in real life look at the price of oil up to July 2008 ($148US a barrel) and then looked at what happened when the speculators exited, a drop to $35US a barrel.
Eco Bird, I agree, it will be interesting to see what effect the foreign based buyers ban has. If your naive enough to still believe Nanny Herald 4% figure for Auckland, then there's little effect - right? (chuckle) https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11…
Yes DGZ, I'm with you too, BRING ON THE BAN .. please. Those "leafy" prices are com'n down!
We all knew that. We could all see the smoke...
The faces of Barfoot's top agents 2015: https://www.barfoot.co.nz/news/2015/may/top-salespeople-2015
Ray White enters China https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11…
"...more than 100 people, all ethnic Chinese, registered interest with the agency to purchase sections in a Hobsonville..." https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11…
Smoke everywhere - yet only 3% fire! I guess the fire doesn't count if it's a student.
This is from the original 2015 LINZ transfer form:
Are you or a member of your immediate family a New
Zealand citizen or a holder of either a resident, [or] work or student
visa?
I've seen row boats with fewer ORs. Apparently a fresh off the plane student is a New Zealander.
The media never reported one of the interesting facts - the Chinese that were counted as such, are buying more properties than they sell - i.e. accumulating. Other groups like Australians were not doing this. It is neocolonialism as we knew all along.
Dear Nymad
You write " seeing as you have caught it..." . There is no need to speak to TTP that way. He is the most considered and intellectual fellow on this site (which I might add is full of DGM's). I would encourage you to listen to TTP...and you will soon see the spring he talks about.
TTP keep up the great work !!!
TPM
Hi nymad,
Re "stupidity" - have you yet figured out the difference between cyclical and structural factors impacting on housing markets?
Given your self-acknowledged expertise in applied econometrics, I'm assuming you have now grasped the basic distinction??
Perhaps, your eminence, you would provide us with some reassurance.
TTP
TTP, re your "novel ways of getting around the new rules would be naive indeed" Please provide some facts and examples as to how this will occur here in New Zealand. Examples including links where other countries have tried and failed would also be useful. Give us "DGM's" a reason to quake in out boots lol!
Hi Retired-Poppy,
I'd be very happy to provide you with information - but you'll need to palm my hand with silver.
Suggest you cash in a few of your term deposits - and then we'll arrange a place to meet.
Look forward to seeing you soon - with the cash........
TTP
TTP :) Exciting times don't you think? I'm a little disappointed you couldn't come up with some facts. I was ready to quake in my boots. I like a little fear once and awhile! Your response is further confirmation the ban (from an RE agents point of view) is going to be very effective indeed. Probably not the outcome you were intending....
A vain emperor who cares about nothing except wearing and displaying clothes hires weavers who promise him they will make him the best suit of clothes. The weavers are con-men who convince the emperor they are using a fine fabric invisible to anyone who is either unfit for his position or "hopelessly stupid". The con lies in that the weavers are actually only pretending to manufacture the clothes; they are making make-believe clothes which they mime. Thus, no one, not even the emperor nor his ministers can see the alleged "clothes", but pretend that they can for fear of appearing unfit for their positions, and the emperor does the same. Finally, the weavers report that the suit is finished, they mime dressing him, and the emperor marches in procession before his subjects. The townsfolk uncomfortably go along with the pretense, not wanting to appear unfit for their positions or stupid. Then, a child in the crowd, too young to understand the desirability of keeping up the pretense, blurts out that the emperor is wearing nothing at all, and the cry is taken up by others. The emperor realizes the assertion is true but continues the procession.
Finally the child in the crowd ASB shouts but ASB is no child and no innocent :)
Everyone knew but people who matters be it politicians, media house....all had vested interested so why would they.
Exposes a different type of corruption in NZ.
Would be interesting to see the effect of ban on foreign buyers if implemented the way it was promised.
plenty of visa holders are permanent residents not citizens - I only know a very small number of permanent residents who have also spent the time and money to convert their permanent residency status to citizenship
And regarding corporate entities - really hard to think that the majority of these are not owned by NZ citizens or indeed permanent residents - 'I fit in both having arrived here 12 years ago and never ever left NZ shores since.
Its more than 3% for sure but certainly nothing like the 21% - more smoke and mirrors -
Still back to the question the COl promised a complete ban on foreign buyers - and told us it would be easy to do in fact so simple they were prepared to risk a trade agreement for it - still waiting - oh wait they can buy as many of the plan buildings as they want - as long as they then rent it to poor NZ's for huge sums
nice going COL- that will work !
ASB are saying 11% to 21% of reported purchases involved a non-NZ citizen, over the March 2018 year.
That's the current situation, i.e. the past year. All evidence suggests that many foreign buyers stepped away after the peak in late 2016, so just how many homes were going to offshore buyers before that. 30% more?
So .... who cares what happened 3 years ago ? ..unless you enjoy crying over spilt milk ...!
National left the gate doors open, because it was necessary ( in their view) to keep the money coming and induce tourism etc etc.... Just Like it was widely opened in 2002-3 by the last Labour Gov (Aunt Helen) and house prices DOUBLED then in 4-5 years....
The same GATES are now LEFT OPEN, because this CoLs had the taste of money and they are addicted to spending it and realised that they cannot shut it as much as they wish ...
so the only thing that is kept shut is their TRAPS atm and no one wants to talk about it ... Go Figure why !!
“All it takes is extra demand at the margin to really have quite a sizeable impact in the market.”
In 2003 I was on holiday in NZ between jobs (OK unemployed - UK citizen with overseas contract ended) when a Kiwi friend said "why don't you stay in NZ", my reply "I'm too old well over 44" and friend said "that is Oz rules you squeak into NZ immigration" so I chose t stay in NZ and getting residency a few months later immediately bought a house and brought my Melanesian partner and her children here. So when I made my purchase offer I was a non-citzen holiday maker and when I completed a month later I was a resident. & years later I became a citizen and as with many converts I'm more proud of being a Kiwi than you born-here natives. My point being how do you measure me in your statisitcs for foreign ownership? If the right to own had been delayed until either permanent residency visa granted (2 years later) or citizenship (7 years later) I would have rented or bought new if the option was available.
It's a good point you make, but the reverse could be just as true. I spent 17 years as an expat in Asia and am very familiar with the expat community here in NZ of those from a certain Asian country. Many in this community have gained New Zealand citizenship despite the fact that they don't think of themselves as Kiwis unless it is advantageous to do so, speak barely enough English to survive and, socialise exclusively with those from their country of birth, and do business mainly with those from their country of birth. Most only applied for citizenship so they could become the holder of a passport of a Western nation and travel much more easily than using the passport of their homeland. These folks are counted as citizens in these statistics and they are citizens....but not what some would think of as citizens.
We have to accept them (maybe with gritted teeth); they are the result of NZ's past mistakes and point out that the same problem will reoccur so long as NZ has a welfare state and most 3rd world countries don't. I always thought the Ozzie rules made more sense than the NZ rules but here I am and very happy to be here.
Some Chinese aquaintences are very proud and patriotic Kiwis and some seem as you describe. Eventually the latter will have children who grow up and become genuine Kiwis. Or at least they will if we keep numbers sane - I visited Bradford recently and that is two separate communities and it may take many generations, many troubles and considerable costs before it resolves. (Ref: Taleb's remark about multiple cultures in Lebenon surviving for over 1400 years with all conflicts settled until the last one where it took a decade of fighting to leave Beruit 'the Paris of the mediterranean' in ruins).
That has put the cat among the pidgeons. Well done ASB for actually finding out what everyone knew.
So, if we actually did stop foreign buyers we might actually get cheaper houses. Obviously we can't have that, now can we? Got to put in some extra get outs like it's ok if they buy new builds (er, why, exactly?). That and make the legal definition of ownership impossible to actually prove or disprove or some such other way that it is dead easy to circumvent the regulation, especially if you come from a country where circumventing regulation is a life preserving skill.
Sure you can. Get the ban in, and put a big tax on those holding/squatting for gain on empty houses if they don't live and pay their global tax here. If overseas owners want to buy lots of apartments then great, most born and raised kiwis don/t prefer apartments and we cant have that sector got tot eh wall in a big way because AKL has to go up. I expect that most new appartments will have to be fenced out of the target school zones because there simply isn't space to takes the extra kids. At least mt Albert had the stones to call it when Kiwibuild high density plans for the Waterview/Carrington location were announced.
This is the reason why Kiwis like me, have had to cross the ditch. Double the wages, affordable housing...come on over! Land and home packages for less than $300k... bloody sad really, in that you just cant get ahead in NZ... while overseas investors in their attempt to get funds out of their country, push up prices to ridiculous levels.. BS really.
These numbers have always kind of been in the LINZ data, from the outset. Anyone who read their releases all the way through will have noted the riders they put on all of it, that the figures were not to be taken as gospel and that there was a hefty % that was not positively identified. We all knew it, only some of us preferred to fudge that.
Sorry if ridding ourselves of foreign buyers reams house prices out, it would have been preferable that what happened never did, but we did have a National govt through the worst of this, who just denied and denied and denied.
Everyone knew this (apart from Mike Hosking, apparently). Auckland, Vancouver, Sydney, Melbourne and London all hot spots for wealthy Chinese wanting to get cash out of a communist state. It's sort of good to know that our biggest city is in such illustrious company. What happens if Mr Xi orders them to repatriate their funds?
Thats exactually my point Jimmy. Sadly left NZ to go back to Perth 2 months ago.... what used to cost me $400 of groceries cost me $150 to feed a family of 5 in Perth. Gas $1.35 per letre.... house and land packages so we can live in a warm house... $260-300k . AND MORE IMPORTANTLY you get paid way more to be able to afford the necessities. Im telling everyone I know- get over here as it is about to boom again and you can get ahead for you and your family. NZ is beautiful. But there is absolutely no way that you can get ahead..
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/105019943/firsthome-buyers-extra-bill
So not only are these poor FHB's paying extra for < `10% loans, they are about to have that 10% wiped out and be in negative equity. The lucky ones are using mum n dads property. What could go wrong...
11-21% Nationally would equate to ~100% in top Auckland suburbs where foreign buying was concentrated. My takeaway is this:
When using statistics to “play down” foreign house buying then the percentage of foreign buyers is to be grossly underestimated. However, when using statistics to water down the legislation and render it meaningless, then the same percentage is to be grossly overestimated.
Similarly, overwhelming anecdotal, visual, and semiempirical evidence (like names of buyers) is to be completely ignored. However, the musings (such as a number plucked from thin air) of someone with a vested interest is to be taken very seriously.
Welcome to 1984 folks.
The final FU to the "average kiwi" was JK selling his house to a Chinese citizen.
But....."look, hey at the end of the day there's no evidence to support you xenophobic ideaology (rounded vowels), I must get back to my popular semantics, overtly kiwi accent and reminding the sheeps that I came from a state house. Just remember all you red coats, the "books" were in fantastic order when I left....forgot about the country though but the books...oh those beautiful books Bill me ole mate.
More tip of the iceberg:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12…
Such high quality immigration our country has fostered
Wow I would never have guessed. ANYone with a bit of nouse knew this years ago. It's absurd and laughable that the banks, the govt and powers that be are just "discovering" this now. Where are all the independent journalists(and mainstream media) with guts......same story as the media silence in Europe in the face of other 'takeovers'.....unbelieveable.
What I learned from dear old Brother Lynch back in 6th form physics was that any number you saw (ie 3 %) needed to be defined.
ASB have been quite smart - but also just done what many others who looked at the definition already have. 3% is so closely defined it was always going to be low.
A real interesting number would be sales to those not actual citizens. Scary high I think.
But, but, but, you can't do that. I mean what will our Chinese overlords say? That is just not allowed, they will say, just as they will say (or have already said, I suspect) that they would view a foreign buyer ban on new builds very unfavourably. Unfavourably being code for punitive measures will be taken. Goods stopped on wharves, that sort of thing (remember John Key running off to Beijing to kow tow every time this happened).
I have begun to suspect that talk about Free Trade Agreements is diplomatic code for the Communist Party of China. Our politicians might mention South Korea or somewhere else so as to put us off the scent, but, really? The nature of an autocratic state is that its leaders regard their citizens as state property, and the property of their citizens as the property of the state, sub let to them for the time being on the basis of their good behaviour.
Is this just conspiracy theory, or what is actually going on behind the scenes?
More quality 'business immigrants':
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/105064206/alleged-ghost-writing-bu…
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