New Zealand's new ban on foreign buyers will not drive international property investors away from the NZ housing market, reports Radio New Zealand (16 August 2018). Instead, real estate experts believe the new ruling will push offshore homebuyers towards investing in developments. According to Chinese international real estate platform Juwai.com, Chinese investor enquiries in Kiwi property were up 15.6% y-o-y in Q1 2018 following news of the potential ban. "New Zealand does need foreign investment to help build new products, new homes, and foreign investment is very good for that because, especially, Chinese buyers are more willing to buy off the plan which gives developers the commitment they need to get financing to start construction," said Juwai.com spokesman Dave Platter. "We think foreign buyers will continue to be an important part of the market - it's just that they won't be as active in the existing home segment."
