Rt Hon Winston Peters

New Zealand First Leader

Member of Parliament for Northland
1 MAY 2016

It’s Black And White: Record Immigration is Fuelling Housing Market

Commentators are tripping over themselves to explain the causes of the Auckland housing crisis – but they are avoiding the patently obvious, says New Zealand First.

“Some New Zealanders are petrified about stating the obvious – that massive offshore buying and record immigration, much of it from China, is fuelling the Auckland market by driving demand for real estate way beyond supply,” says New Zealand First Leader and Northland MP Rt Hon Winston Peters.

“No amount of dallying from the government and others, like IRD numbers, land taxes, reciprocal agreements, will deal with it or stop it.

“The core issue is too many people coming in, and non-residents buying homes and investment properties for themselves or others offshore. At this moment in history much of the source of people is China.

“It’s not the fault of Chinese people, given the opportunity our lax policies afford to them.

“When Radio NZ’s John Campbell visits an auction house in Auckland and finds nearly half the prospective buyers were born in China, and everyone is looking for investment properties its blatantly obvious what the problem is. But Mr Campbell, like the rest of NZ, is too politically correct to state the obvious. Instead, he is effervescent about the fact they are now claiming to be New Zealanders.

“The fact is, well over half the 67,000 immigrants a year are settling in Auckland, and many have now been given permanent residency. That does not make them New Zealanders even though they get the full protection of New Zealand laws. Their money comes from China, and no doubt many will be buying for people still in China.

“Evidence that immigration is fuelling the market is black and white: real estate firms around Auckland have droves of Chinese agents, there are dedicated colour booklets in Chinese advertising houses for sale, websites in China list NZ real estate, and Aucklanders talk about Chinese land banking and Chinese owning empty properties. It goes on.

“But politically correct NZ will not say it – the problem that is affecting the home buying prospects of hundreds of thousands of Kiwis is government policy on immigration and offshore buyers – it is open slather for both categories.

“We must stop fuelling the real estate market – lessen demand by putting an end to foreign buying and dramatically reduce immigration, and get on with building houses for New Zealanders.

“Prime Minister John Key’s legacy of more New Zealanders than ever becoming tenants in their own country has got to be confronted with real policies.”

ENDS

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