(March 6): New Zealand is reopening its luxury property market to wealthy foreign investors, just as rising geopolitical tensions spur demand for far-flung havens.
Starting Friday, holders of the country’s so-called golden visas will be allowed to buy or build homes worth at least NZ$5 million (US$3 million or $3.78 million).
“Over the last week, especially with President Trump’s recent actions, inquiries from America have definitely picked up,” said Caleb Paterson, the owner of Auckland-based real estate firm Paterson Luxury. “I’ve had six genuine inquiries from the US in the past four days alone. It’s making New Zealand a more appealing place to move to.”
Opening the top end of New Zealand’s property market to foreign buyers has been a lengthy process, requiring delicate negotiations within the coalition government.
It began back in April, when — as part of a push to revive its sluggish economy — the government relaunched its Active Investor Plus visa to attract wealthy migrants and their capital.
There have been 589 applications covering 1,891 people as of Feb 26, amounting to a potential total minimum investment of NZ$3.5 billion, data from Immigration New Zealand shows. Around 37% of applicants are from the US.
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But a foreign-buyer ban introduced under former prime minister Jacinda Ardern meant although these people could live in New Zealand, they were unable to buy a house. Ardern’s clampdown was aimed at curbing offshore speculation blamed for inflating prices. Data showed foreigners accounted for only a fraction of sales at the time.
In September, the government said it would carve out an exemption to the rules and on Friday that came into force.
It comes at a time when New Zealand’s property market remains mired in a multi-year slump, with prices down as much as 28% in Wellington and 20% in Auckland from their January 2022 peak, according to the QV House Price Index.
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For the luxury segment, the policy shift may mark a turning point. In the last 12 months, luxury sales volumes have been low, Paterson said, with many homeowners simply taking their properties off the market rather than accept lower offers. Around 40% of luxury homes listed over the past 18 months were withdrawn without selling, he said.
Now, much of that stock has returned to the market following confirmation of the foreign buyer policy.
Paterson said he’s recently seen multi-offers — where a number of parties submit competing bids for one property — again, which had been absent from the market for at least two years.
“In one case, a property that had been listed with multiple agencies for months is now going into multi-offer,” he said. “Many of these buyers are locals who feel urgency now that foreign buyers can re-enter the market.”
There are pockets of the country that have escaped the malaise that has gripped the market — most notably the ski resort of Queenstown in the South Island.
Queenstown realtor Mark Harris, managing director and founder of Sotheby’s International Realty New Zealand, said interest in the area was high.
“There have been multiple private jets in Queenstown recently — not all for property, of course — but international interest in New Zealand is strong from buyers who either have AIP status or are applying,” he said. “Our website traffic reflects that, United States users are up 61% year-on-year, and Australians are up 24% year-on-year.”
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There are about 7,000 houses in New Zealand valued at more than NZ$5 million — just 0.4% of the nation’s housing stock — according to property consultancy Cotality. Around 4,500 are in Auckland, the nation’s largest city, and about 1,250 are in the South Island ski-resort town of Queenstown.
Only around 350 of those trophy properties are typically put up for sale each year, limiting the pool available to foreign buyers.
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