Buying property in nz: Changes are on their way!
As you may have heard last week, the Government’s Overseas Investment Amendment Bill (overseas buyer ban) passed its final reading. The legislation though is not yet operative. The date on which the Act commences will be detailed Soon. Royal Assent has been given. No doubt it will be widely reported but I will try to advise you of the relevant dates as soon as possible. Please check back to this article if you want to be kept up-to-date, as your mortgage broker in Auckland, New Zealand I will be continuously monitoring this new situation regarding buying property in nz.
In effect, post commencement of the Act, all residential land will be classified as sensitive and therefore overseas entities will not be allowed to purchase residential property without OIO consent. There are of course, exceptions, primarily as follows:
EXISTING HOUSES:
People allowed to buy existing houses will be New Zealand Citizens, NZ resident visa holders, such as people on a study visa or work visa, Australians and Singaporeans. So for this group buying property in nz will not change. Contact us to discuss your mortgage needs, or read more on mortgages here
NEW PROPERTIES:
Overseas investors will be allowed to buy new apartments off the plan in developments of more than 20 units – up to 60 per cent of units in such developments can be owned by overseas investors, but they are still not allowed to live in them. The apartments may be kept by overseas owners as a rental, sold under a rent to buy scheme or as part of a shared-equity development.
HOTELS:
Overseas investors will be allowed to own any number of units in a hotel with 20 or more units on condition they enter a lease-back arrangement with the hotel developer, and not use the unit for their own use for more than 30 days a year.
Whilst Royal assent has been given on the 22nd August 2018, a commencement date for a majority of the legislation has still to be provided. See below for more details on the dates things will change regarding buying property in nz, or call me on 09 377 4433 for the latest news.
Commencement
(1A)
Section 33B (which inserts, into the principal Act, section 80, which relates to clause 4A of Schedule 1AA (exemption relating to dwellings in large apartment developments where sales of dwellings have begun before assent date) comes into force on the expiry of the 2-week period that starts on the date of Royal assent.
(1)
The rest of this Act comes into force on the date appointed by the Governor-General by Order in Council, and 1 or more orders may be made bringing different provisions into force on different dates and appointing different dates for different purposes.
(2)
To the extent that it is not earlier brought into force, this Act comes into force immediately after the expiry of the 2-month period that starts on the date of Royal assent.
(3)
In this section, provision includes any item, or any part of an item, in any of the schedules.
What happens if you live overseas and want to buy property in nz?
For New Zealand passport holders offshore, there is no change to their ability to purchase property in nz either for investment or their own occupation.
As of right now, you can borrow 70% with a work visa and 80% with any form of resident visa. If you have no visa at all I still have some options available at reasonable rates.
The exemptions etc. are obviously subject to various tests, and the results depend on your specific situation. These tests are very detailed and if you wish to find out more, please do not hesitate to contact me on 09 377 4433.
