New Zealand Herald: New Zealand Bans Home Sales for Many Foreigners

New Zealand’s Parliament passed a law prohibiting most non-resident foreigners from purchasing existing homes, with exceptions for those from Australia and possibly Singapore due to trade agreements. Supporters hope to reduce rising home prices and homelessness, but Mike Hosking, writing for the New Zealand Herald, calls it one of the government’s biggest mistakes due to a misunderstanding of normal business cycles with rising and falling prices: “A small country at the bottom of the world needs foreign investment, and the Government's line was always about it meaning more New Zealanders could own a home.” Most foreign purchasers are from China and Australia. Median home prices are already slipping. Foreigners represent about 3 percent of all New Zealand home purchases, and Hosking points out that banning foreign purchases could cause economic harm and do little to help young adults in purchasing their first home. – YaleGlobal