Aucklanders viewing properties elsewhere
27th Jun
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Property values are soaring in Auckland, New Zealand, a city of 1.4 million people on a remote island straddling the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean…
That’s how a recent article in the New York Times kicks off its account of inflated property prices in the city of sails. Returning expatriate investors, housing shortage and an influx of foreign buyers, according to the report, are all helping to fuel the city’s residential demand.
“Auckland’s beaches, clean air and environmentally friendly image are clear selling points for foreign property investors”, the article quotes analysts as saying. “And New Zealand’s property investment laws — which do not include a stamp duty or a capital gains tax — are seen as more welcoming than those of Singapore, Hong Kong and other global investment hubs.”
Although it delved into quite some detail as to the drivers for Auckland’s property price hike, the article was light on solutions. More land releases for residential development and new RBA controls were mooted as price coolers, but the industry insiders interviewed suggested that these would have little effect on rising demand.
A lack of housing affordability is – suggests the article – a hallmark of New Zealand’s economic good health. A better economy is enticing Kiwi expats back from over the Tasman and bringing investment money in from overseas. The winds of prosperity are filling Auckland’s sails no doubt, but the irony is that its increasingly expensive to get on the boat.
[Image: Sailing ship, by Botarus]