- The Government has overturned foreign buyer restrictions, allowing overseas holders of the Active Investor Plus visa to buy houses worth $5m or more.
- Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said the visa is critical for economic growth, requiring a $5m investment and good character test.
- The changes were unexpected, with real estate agencies unaware and details on implementation still unclear.
The Government has quietly overturned the country’s foreign buyer restrictions, announcing on Saturday that overseas holders of the Active Investor Plus residency visa would be able to buy a New Zealand house worth $5 million or more.
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However, real estate experts appear to be caught by surprise and have pressed for more information on how the so-called "golden visa" will work.
A press release published on the Beehive website on December 13 stated that changes to the Overseas Investment Act had been passed by Parliament. It announced that the bulk of overseas investment decisions must be made within 15 working days.
The press release stated that the bill “also ensures overseas-based investors with a New Zealand investor resident visa will be allowed to buy a house here, to encourage more investment to grow the economy”.
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford was quoted as saying that the Active Investor Plus residency visa was “critical to our economic growth”.
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford says the changes will affect less than 1% of New Zealand houses. Photo / Getty Images
“If a migrant invests a minimum of $5 million to help grow the economy, passes a good character test, and has acceptable health, they will now be able to buy or build a home,” she said. “The home must be valued at least $5 million, less than 1 per cent of New Zealand houses.”
OneRoof reached out to the minister for more details about the changes. Her office sent a flyer, which stated that houses bought under the new rules could be a visa-holder's main residence or holiday home, or used as a business base. The $5m threshold was the combined value of the house and land. The amendment is due to come into force in early 2026, but the flyer did not give an exact date or address how the Government will assess the value of the houses that buyers wish to buy or build.
Last month, the Government said it did not expect to pass its changes to the foreign buyer ban until the first half of 2026. However, Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour told OneRoof: “The House Office set the legislative agenda. They saw the importance of passing it this year, so it was."
He added: "Royal assent usually occurs three days to a week after the passing of the third reading. The act will be effective early next year.”
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Real estate experts approached by OneRoof were unaware that the Government had passed the amendments and said they were keen to find out more details.
OneRoof reported at the end of last month that questions were mounting about the visa. One lawyer told OneRoof that homeowners who think they can circumvent the foreign buyer ban by adding an expensive car or boat to their list of chattels could fall foul of the law.
Stuart Nash, the ex-Labour minister whose firm Nash Kelly Global helps high-net-worth foreigners navigate the “golden visa” rules, welcomed the changes but also called for information.
“This provides a whole lot of certainty to those who were perhaps holding back and wondering if they were ever going to be able to buy a property in New Zealand.”
Nash said the most important thing was that legislation had been passed, but he was now waiting for details around when it would commence, as well as the final details of the policy, which had not been made public.
The Overseas Investment Office had not been able to provide the policy details when he contacted it this morning, and told him it would be released in the near future.
“It is slightly frustrating for those on the margins, but what we do know is if you want to buy a $10m property in Queenstown, a $15m on the northern slopes of Herne Bay or a $20m property in the Bay of Islands, if you get your AIP visa, then you will be able to do this.”
Nash expected overseas buyers would now feel more confident making offers on properties, but would include a clause in the sale and purchase agreement stating the deal was subject to the commencement of the legislation.
He believed the changes were rushed through on Friday so that the Deputy Prime Minister could go into Christmas saying he had made the required changes to the Overseas Investment Act.
New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty agent Ross Hawkins was also surprised. “It’s what we’ve all been waiting for. But again, it’s the unknown, isn’t it – when and what? We are still waiting to know when it’s going to come in and what the rules and parameters are," he told OneRoof.
Stuart Nash: “There’s a lack of certainty for those who are buying and those who are selling.” Photo / Warren Buckland
"It needs to be clearly spelled out because if you can’t sell it with all your Studio Italia furniture, which is worth $300,000 or $400,000, as part of the price, are they just saying it’s just the land and buildings that are $5m or land, building and chattels? It needs to be clear so people know what they’ve got to deal with.”
Hawkins said overseas buyers had backed off in the last month after the Government announced it would not be passed until the first half of 2026. He expected interest to pick up again. “The sooner we’ve got some certainty on timing, the better. People will then start committing.”
Walker & Co director Hamish Walker said it was good to see the Government had placed importance on what the overseas investors could bring to New Zealand in terms of capital, networks and IP by urgently passing the legislation by Christmas. “I sold a house recently where the parties involved had donated significant amounts of money to our community here in Queenstown, so it would be great to see more foreigners like this investing here and spending more time in New Zealand. Overall, I think it’s a really good thing.”
New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty managing director Mark Harris told OneRoof last month that people in the US, Asia and Europe were now in the process of applying for a golden visa because it was their ticket to buying a home in New Zealand. “They are getting that done, so when the rule is bought in, they are ready to go.”
Research published by OneRoof earlier this year identified just under 10,000 New Zealand residential / lifestyle properties worth $5m and above, around 7000 of which can be considered ready-to-live-in homes.
According to analysis by OneRoof’s data partner, Valocity, the vast majority of these homes are in Auckland (4479) and Queenstown-Lakes (1213).
The analysis also shows just how small the prestige market is in New Zealand when it comes to sales. Last year, just 0.2% of homes sold were in the $5m-plus bracket. Even at market peak, $5m-plus sales represented just 0.4% of total sales.
Of the 31 suburbs with more than 50 homes in the higher price range, just three are outside Auckland and Queenstown-Lakes: Mount Maunganui, in Tauranga (204); Whangamata, in Thames-Coromandel (89); and Merivale, in Christchurch (54).
“All the suburbs are where you’d expect them to be and highlight just how popular the coast is in New Zealand. Most of the suburbs on the list are within touching distance of water,” Valocity senior research analyst Wayne Shum told OneRoof.
The suburb with by far the greatest concentration of $5m-plus homes is Remuera, in Auckland. The Valocity research identified 1056 high-value houses in the wealthy inner-city enclave, more than 700 than the suburb with the next highest tally, neighbouring Parnell.
Both these suburbs are prized by upper-end buyers for the luxury homes they offer, but they are also a magnet for Aucklanders looking to get their children into two of the country’s top schools, Auckland Grammar and Epsom Girls Grammar.
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