Seventy-five homes in central Auckland were transferred to overseas people in the June 2019 quarter, Stats NZ said today.
A total of 939 home transfers were registered in Waitematā (Auckland inner city) in the June 2019 quarter, including 75 home transfers to people without NZ citizenship or a resident visa (8 percent).
"Central Auckland home transfers to overseas people are down more than 70 percent compared with the peak last year. This is similar to the number of home transfers to overseas people in mid-2017, before changes were proposed to the Overseas Investment Act," property statistics manager Melissa McKenzie said.
"It's not surprising to still see some home transfers to overseas people in central Auckland, which is dominated by apartment buildings. They may have bought apartments off the plans before restrictions on overseas home buyers took effect. These only show up in our statistics once the apartment is built.
"The Overseas Investment Act also allows Australians and Singaporeans to purchase residential property in New Zealand, and other overseas people to purchase in some new developments."
Home transfers to overseas people in Waitematā peaked at 321 transfers (22 percent) in the June 2018 quarter, shortly before the Overseas Investment Amendment Act 2018 was passed, restricting the sale of residential land.
Of these, 153 homes were transferred to overseas people with Chinese tax residency in the June 2018 quarter - falling to 48 in the June 2019 quarter.
"Overseas buyers make up a much greater share of home transfers in the Auckland inner city than in New Zealand as a whole," Ms McKenzie said.
Nationally, buyers without NZ citizenship or a resident visa accounted for only 0.5 percent of home transfers in the June 2019 quarter (down from 2.8 percent in the June 2018 quarter).
Note that the figures in this news story are randomly rounded to protect confidentiality.
Frequently asked questions
How many 'foreigners' are buying New Zealand homes?
It depends how you define 'foreigner'. In the June 2019 quarter, of all home transfers:
- 81 percent were to at least one NZ citizen
- 11 percent were to corporate entities only (which could have NZ or overseas owners)
- 7.9 percent were to at least one NZ-resident-visa holder (someone who can live and work in New Zealand for as long as they like)
- 0.5 percent were to no NZ citizens or resident visa holders.
When we talk about transfers to 'overseas people', we mean the 0.5 percent of transfers where none of the buyers were NZ citizens or resident-visa holders (excluding transfers where all the buyers were corporate entities). We focus on this measure because it aligns most closely with the definition of 'overseas person' in the Overseas Investment Act 2005.
What about the Overseas Investment Amendment Act 2018?
The new Act affects contracts signed from 22 October 2018. As transfers are not counted until completed, it wasn't as obvious in December 2018 quarter statistics.
The new Act prevents most people who don't hold NZ citizenship or a resident visa from buying residential property in New Zealand. For further information see Overseas Investment Amendment Act 2018.
Why is the number of home transfers to overseas people not zero?
The number of home transfers to overseas people may never be zero due to Overseas Investment Act exemptions (eg some new homes, and Australian and Singaporean buyers).
Some contracts signed before 22 October 2018 may take many months before they are completed and counted in these statistics. Apartments bought off the plans may not be transferred to an overseas buyer until construction is complete years after the contract was signed.
How many of the corporate entities have 'foreign' owners?
Information on the ownership of corporate entities (by New Zealanders or overseas people) is not currently available, as it is not collected on land transfer tax statements.
How are trusts captured in these statistics?
We count a trust based on the visa or citizenship status of its trustees. If at least one trustee holds NZ citizenship, then the transfer is counted as a transfer to a NZ citizen.
How much New Zealand property is owned by 'foreigners'?
We do not currently have a register of property owned by overseas people. These property transfer statistics measure overseas involvement in property transfers in any given quarter, but not the total amount of property owned by overseas people.
Can transfers of bare residential land be identified in these statistics?
No, we can't currently identify bare residential land in these statistics, but it is included, along with homes, commercial, and other land, in total property transfers.
Is the Overseas Investment Act being enforced?
The Overseas Investment Office enforce the Overseas Investment Act. For information on applications by overseas people to buy New Zealand property see Decision summaries and statistics. For information on enforcement where overseas people have bought property without appropriate consent see Enforcement action taken.
What about 'foreign' buyers in Australia?
The Australian Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) reports on approvals of purchases by overseas buyers. They also have registers for residential land, agricultural land, and water entitlements.
For further information see Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) 2017-18 Annual Report.
Why do you talk about 'transfers' not 'sales'?
A transfer is not the same as a sale. Transfers often involve a sale, but there are many other possible reasons for a transfer (such as marriage settlements, boundary changes, trustee changes, and changes in the share of ownership).
Every sale is a transfer, but not every transfer is a sale. We refer to the parties involved as buyers and sellers for simplicity.
We know the number of transfers to overseas people because this information is collected on land transfer tax statements, which cover all types of transfer and not just sales.
Aren't there lots of people missing from these numbers?
We have information about the visa status or citizenship of virtually all people who transfer property in New Zealand. The only uncertainty is around the ownership of corporate entities that transfer property.
In addition to statistics about the visa status or citizenship of people who transfer property, we also publish statistics about their tax residency. The tax residency statistics include a large category for parties that are exempt from stating their tax residency on a land transfer tax statement (eg because the transfer involves their main home). The visa and citizenship statistics are not affected by this exemption, because these people are still required to state their visa or citizenship status.
Tax residency is not the same as nationality. We advise focusing on the statistics about visa or citizenship status (also known as affiliation).
What is the net change in 'foreign' ownership of New Zealand property?
We don't produce a measure of the net change in property owned by overseas people.
If you subtract seller statistics from buyer statistics to calculate a net change in home ownership, it is important to note that:
- between the time of buying and selling a home, owners can move between affiliations (eg a work-visa holder could become a resident-visa holder or NZ citizen)
- some types of affiliations may sell many newly built homes (eg corporate entities).
Therefore, net changes for a given affiliation could be understated or overstated.
Text alternative for Home transfers by buyer citizenship or visa status, Waitematā local board (Auckland inner city), June 2017 to June 2019 quarters
This stacked column graph shows the number and percentage of home transfers by buyer citizenship or visa status (at least one NZ citizen, at least one NZ resident visa but no citizens, corporate only, and no NZ citizens or resident visas). Also indicated is on 14 December 2017 the Overseas Investment Act (OIA) amendment bill was introduced to Parliament, on 22 August 2018 OIA amendment got Royal assent, and on 22 October 2018 OIA amendment came into force. Data for this graph is available on Infoshare. Subject category: People and communities. Group: Property transfer statistics - PTS. Table: Affiliation by territorial authority and local boards (Qrtly-Mar/Jun/Sep/Dec).
Text alternative for Home transfers by buyer citizenship or visa status, New Zealand, June 2017 to June 2019 quarters
This stacked column graph shows the number and percentage of home transfers by buyer citizenship or visa status (at least one NZ citizen, at least one NZ resident visa but no citizens, corporate only, and no NZ citizens or resident visas). Also indicated is on 14 December 2017 the Overseas Investment Act (OIA) amendment bill was introduced to Parliament, on 22 August 2018 OIA amendment got Royal assent, and on 22 October 2018 OIA amendment came into force.
Data for this graph is available on table 1 of the following file.
