National blasts Labour government’s housing ownership ban on non-resident foreigners. Party’s finance spokesperson claims the initiative may not actually constitute a ban
by Paolo Taruc
The National Party has published a critique against the Labour Government’s move to ban non-resident foreigners from buying homes, calling it “half-cooked” and “jury-rigged.”
National Party Finance spokesperson Steven Joyce said the plan would be a massive compliance cost for house buyers of all types, as somebody with a foreign-sounding name might have to prove their citizenship to a real estate agent.
“The first and strangest thing about Labour’s announcement is that it isn’t an actual ban. Putting houses through a sensitive land purchase criteria is definitely bureaucratic but does not constitute a ban on such sales.
“There are also all sorts of definitional questions. Is an apartment on the fourth floor of a building ‘sensitive land’? Is a two hectare property with two houses on it that’s being sold for development able to be sold to an international investor?”
New Finance Minister Grant Robertson defended the plan during an interview on TVNZ’s Q&A on Sunday, explaining that officials are concerned about speculation in the housing market.
“We want to lift our expenditure on research and development; we’ve got a massive focus on increasing skills, which is one of the major and most important parts of lifting productivity. And we want to get capital to those businesses that can grow, invest in infrastructure,” Robertson told TVNZ Political Reporter Corin Dann during the interview.
Joyce claims the new government has not grounded the plan on propeor evidence as no paperwork has been released. “The Prime Minister even spoke as if the Auckland property market was still rapidly appreciating whereas in actual fact it’s been flat.”
According to September 2017 figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, Auckland median prices remained flat at $845,000 from a year prior. However, median residential property prices nationwide have risen 1.2% year-on-year to $525,000.
Related stories:
Finance Minister on home affordability
Property market still restrained
The National Party has published a critique against the Labour Government’s move to ban non-resident foreigners from buying homes, calling it “half-cooked” and “jury-rigged.”
National Party Finance spokesperson Steven Joyce said the plan would be a massive compliance cost for house buyers of all types, as somebody with a foreign-sounding name might have to prove their citizenship to a real estate agent.
“The first and strangest thing about Labour’s announcement is that it isn’t an actual ban. Putting houses through a sensitive land purchase criteria is definitely bureaucratic but does not constitute a ban on such sales.
“There are also all sorts of definitional questions. Is an apartment on the fourth floor of a building ‘sensitive land’? Is a two hectare property with two houses on it that’s being sold for development able to be sold to an international investor?”
New Finance Minister Grant Robertson defended the plan during an interview on TVNZ’s Q&A on Sunday, explaining that officials are concerned about speculation in the housing market.
“We want to lift our expenditure on research and development; we’ve got a massive focus on increasing skills, which is one of the major and most important parts of lifting productivity. And we want to get capital to those businesses that can grow, invest in infrastructure,” Robertson told TVNZ Political Reporter Corin Dann during the interview.
Joyce claims the new government has not grounded the plan on propeor evidence as no paperwork has been released. “The Prime Minister even spoke as if the Auckland property market was still rapidly appreciating whereas in actual fact it’s been flat.”
According to September 2017 figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, Auckland median prices remained flat at $845,000 from a year prior. However, median residential property prices nationwide have risen 1.2% year-on-year to $525,000.
Related stories:
Finance Minister on home affordability
Property market still restrained
