2023 New Zealand Election: Potential Changes for Overseas Homebuyers

Introduction

Our Election is on 14th October which is only a month away. Each party has introduced their different policies to attract voters to vote for them. One of the party may look into reversing or amending the current law for foreign byers if they are won in election. 

So how does it affect to the overseas buyers?   

It will be a good news for those clients who are currently on working visa while they aren’t currently eligible to purchase a home in NZ due to they are not NZ residents yet . Also the overseas investors who are looking to purchase an investment property in NZ and hope to have a capital gain in the future.  

Current policy vs the possible policy for these 2 types of buyers

For the current policy, for those who are on working visa and working in NZ, they only able to buy an overseas exemption property which will firstly need the confirmation by a lawyer that they are eligible to purchase then we can look into the clients serviceability and how much deposit they have when applying into the banks for home loan. However, not all the banks do provide lending for non NZ resident or citizen.  

However, if this OIA policy get amended then there will be more banks possibly able to provide the lending for these customers and have more choices and able to purchase any properties which are under the current overseas exemption properties.  

For those overseas buyers who are looking to purchase a property in NZ for investment purposes , under the current policy, overseas buyers can purchase a property in a large development with an exemption certificate. Unless you are a Singaporean or Australian Citizen , then you are able to purchase any properties in NZ.  

If the OIA policy get amended, for those clients who are non-Singaporean or Australian citizen will also able to purchase any properties in NZ, while depends where are your income are from, NZ banks may also able to use your overseas income to service the loan so you are able to borrow money to purchase an investment property in NZ as well.  

Conclusion

No matter which party won in the election, we will still able provide your recommendation and possibly solution to help you successfully borrow enough funding to settle the property.  

We hope today's content has provided you with insights. If you have overseas buyers planning to purchase investment properties in New Zealand and need loans, please feel free to contact us. We will provide specific advice based on your situation.  

Disclaimer: The content in this article are provided for general situation purpose only. To the extent that any such information, opinions, views and recommendations constitute advice, they do not take into account any person’s particular financial situation or goals and, accordingly, do not constitute personalised financial advice. We therefore recommend that you seek advice from your adviser before taking any action.