New figures show more than 80 Tauranga homes were sold to foreign tax residents in the first half of this year. Photo/file
New figures show more than 80 Tauranga homes were sold to foreign tax residents in the first half of this year.
Those 87 sales where at least one buyer was a foreign tax resident represented 2.2 per cent of the 3810 property transfers recorded in Tauranga between January and June, according to the Land Information New Zealand statistics.
The same proportion - 2.2 per cent - was recorded for that period in 2016.
That was a smaller proportion than the New Zealand average of 3 per cent.
The statistics are not a measure of foreign property ownership. Tax residence is not the same as nationality.
An overseas tax resident may be a New Zealand citizen (such as someone working or travelling overseas). Or they may be an overseas citizen who lives and works in New
Zealand, but is counted as overseas for tax purposes.
Tauranga mayor Greg Brownless was pleased to see nothing to indicate growth in the number of foreign property investors buying in Tauranga.
"I would prefer that people who own property here also live here. I would like that they live here and contribute to the city."
The fewer investors and property speculators in the market, the better chance young local families would have to buy a home, he said.
Realty group chief executive Simon Anderson was not surprised to hear that the numbers had remained constant.
He said real estate brands such as Eves and Bayleys, which came under the Realty Group umbrella, had worked hard for years to sell Tauranga to people in places like the United Kingdom who were thinking about moving to New Zealand for work.
Those were the most common types of overseas buyers his agents dealt with, he said -
qualified people coming to make New Zealand their home.
He reckoned that in the next few years the number of homes sold to overseas tax residents might gradually increase as more immigrants started looking outside of Auckland and realising what a desirable place Tauranga was to live.
POLITICAL RESPONSE:
Rusty Kane - Tauranga independent:
There needs to be a surcharge on foreign investors to take pressure off house prices. We also need to introduce a vacant property tax, whereby foreigners owning a property that lies vacant for six months or more will have to pay an annual 1 per cent tax percentage of the capital value.
Emma-Leigh Hodge - Green Party:
Fixing housing is a priority for the Greens in Government. We stand against foreign ownership, such sales should be reserved for New Zealand citizens and permanent residents. We would also introduce a capital gains tax on investors (properties excluding the family home), a significant building programme, and a rent-to-buy system.
Simon Bridges - National Tauranga MP:
Foreign home ownership is a normal part of any diverse society. The National Government doesn't buy into the rhetoric of the Opposition of mass purchases by foreigners. At only 2.2 per cent, that is a small part of the Tauranga market overall.
Clayton Mitchell - New Zealand First:
"New Zealand First strongly believes we should have a 'Foreign Ownership Register' so we know exactly how many properties are owned by foreigners. New Zealand First is against non-New Zealand residents and citizens owning property here and will introduce laws to ensure they remain in the hands of Kiwis."
Stuart Pedersen - Act:
Data shows that foreign ownership is not an issue in the Bay. The 2.2 per cent non-tax-resident buyers include expat NZers - and remember there were overseas sellers too. The Trump-like anti foreigner rhetoric from some parties is misguided and dangerous. The housing crisis is supply driven and Act has the answers.
Vanessa Lee - TOP:
TOP wants to make sure both foreigners and Kiwis are paying their fair share of tax. We are open to charging foreign buyers double a nominal annual assets tax rate, which will incentivise investment in productive assets that benefit us all - creating businesses, export, jobs etc.
Jan Tinetti - Labour:
Labour will crack down on all housing speculators. We will ban foreign speculators from buying existing Tauranga homes. The ban will also apply to foreign trusts and foreign corporations. This will remove from the market foreign speculators who are pushing prices out of reach of first home buyers.