Auckland house sales slump 20 per cent as the foreign buyer ban hits the market
23 Jan, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read
Auckland house sales slump 20 per cent as the foreign buyer ban hits the market.
By: Ben Leahy
Reporter, NZ Herald
[email protected]
Auckland house sales slumped by 20 per cent last month as the effects of the Government's ban on foreign buyers hit the market, a major bank says.
The ban came into effect in October with the aim of preventing wealthy overseas buyers from competing for homes with locals.
But while most pundits had been unsure how great an impact it would have, Westpac chief economist Dominick Stephens said its effects were being felt immediately.
He said December was one of the lowest sales months in Auckland in recent years, while the Real Estate Institute of NZ said house sales across the country fell to their lowest levels in seven years.
Evidence "the foreign buyer ban's fingerprints" were behind the slump came from the fact the greatest drop off in sales happened in Auckland, where foreign buyers had earlier been most active, Stephens said.
"The impact of the foreign buyer ban has really shone through in the latest housing market data," Stephens wrote in his January property market report.
"Housing market turnover shot higher in October - just before the ban came into force - but has subsequently tanked."
His comments come as speculation mounts Auckland and New Zealand house prices may follow those across the ditch in Sydney and Melbourne and take a drop.
