New Zealand may be poised to loosen foreign home-buyer ban
Appearing on the Bloomberg Businessweek show on Bloomberg Television on Thursday (Aug 14) in New York, Willis said that the government is looking at allowing foreigners who gain residency under the so-called 'golden visa' programme to purchase residential property.
'Those talks have been underway and you would expect that a decision would be made by our Cabinet in the coming weeks,' she said.
Since 2018, only citizens, tax residents and nationals from Australia and Singapore, due to trade agreements, can freely buy houses in the South Pacific nation. The ban was introduced by then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern due to concerns about unaffordable housing and following a passport-for-sale scandal involving PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.
But the current government has come under pressure to lift it, especially after it revamped its golden visa in April this year to attract more high-net-worth people to the country. That has left would-be investors in the position of being able to get a visa to live in New Zealand but unable to buy a house.
Willis said that the government has been 'delighted' by the response to the golden visa, called Active Investor Plus.
'Hundreds of people have applied for those visas within the first few months, pledging over a billion US dollars in New Zealand funds,' she said. 'That reflects two things. New Zealand is a safe, secure place in a world that increasingly is less so, and people like the idea of having that residency in New Zealand. Second, they can see that many of our investment opportunities are currently under-capitalised.'
As at Aug 8, there have been 267 applications for the golden visa covering 862 people, Immigration New Zealand data shows. Those applications amount to a potential total minimum investment of NZ$1.6 billion (S$1.2 billion). More than 40 per cent are from the US.
'Investing in New Zealand is a good bet,' Willis said. 'Your own little slice of paradise. It's beautiful. I think the world should be looking at New Zealand, we have great prospects.' BLOOMBERG
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