New Zealand has passed laws banning most foreigners from buying homes as it tries to tackle soaring property prices, reports The Times (16 August 2018). Faced with high rents and a housing shortage, the Labour leader, Jacinda Ardern, 38, promised to combat the issue by banning absentee foreign homebuyers before she became New Zealand's prime minister last year. Most foreign buyers, except for Australians and Singaporeans, will be stopped from buying existing homes. House prices in New Zealand's largest city, Auckland, have doubled over the past ten years and have risen by an average of 60 per cent. [This article is available on subscription only.]