Foreign buy-up wrecks home-ownership hopes

Land-grabbing foreign speculators are stealing the own-your-own-home dreams of thousands of young and less well-off New Zealanders, Green Party Co-leader Rod Donald said today.

The latest AMP Home Affordability Survey indicates that it is becoming increasingly difficult for New Zealanders to afford to own their own home.

“A significant factor in the skyrocketing price of property is the buy-up of pristine coastal land by overseas-based investors who want a haven from the misery they’ve helped create in their own countries,” said Rod Donald.

“This in turn artificially inflates the whole housing market, pushing even modest properties out of the reach of many New Zealanders.

“We have no problem at all with foreigners who are prepared to move to this country and become New Zealand citizens. What we don’t want are bolt-hole billionaires driving up land prices and then just using Aotearoa as a holiday-home.”

Rod Donald is preparing a private member’s bill which would change the Overseas Investment Act to ban the sale and long-term lease of New Zealand property to foreign investors.

“The Government should also be encouraging the increasing numbers of people who cannot afford to buy a home by increasing the stock of public housing and introducing more schemes to allow lower-income people to raise the deposit for their own homes.”

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