Real estate listings website has been monitoring international buyer numbers since the country went into lockdown in March
Many countries are still struggling to address the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis. Still, New Zealand is dealing with the pandemic with flying colours, enticing foreign investors to buy properties in the country.
The latest data from the RealEstate.co.nz showed the relationship between New Zealand's COVID-free status and surges of interest in the country's property market from overseas buyers.
RealEstate.co.nz has been checking the number of international buyers since the lockdown in March, and its data revealed that international traffic spiked to under 15,000 unique browsers on May 04 when the government confirmed no active cases of COVID-19 in the country.
International traffic continued to increase as the country moved from one lockdown level to another and companies started going back to business again. However, international traffic declined on June 16 when two women released from isolation were found COVID-19 positive.
Read more: Returning Kiwis key to steady house prices – Report
Bindi Norwell, the chief executive of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, noted a clear pattern of Kiwis returning home to their “haven” since the COVID-19 pandemic started.
“Predictions are that up to 100,000 Kiwis could return home before Christmas if the COVID-19 situation continues in a similar fashion as we're seeing right now,” she told Stuff.
“For many Kiwis, this has marked the start of their return to a new life in New Zealand which includes purchasing a property for them and their family to live in, and reports from agents around the country are that returning New Zealanders make up a good proportion of buyers at the moment.”
Agents continue to receive an influx of calls from overseas investors considering moving to New Zealand, but the foreign buyer ban serves as a hindrance, said Norwell.
“The foreign buyer ban is impacting [non-Kiwis]' ability to purchase property and may impact their decision-making process around whether they would consider a move to New Zealand in the future along with issues around visas [and] international travel,” Norwell concluded.
