Migrants' share of the housing market declines for the second consecutive quarter (2024)

Property/news

Migrants with residence visas accounted for 13.1% of dwelling purchases in the first quarter

30th Apr 24, 12:36pmbyGreg Ninness

Migrants' share of the housing market dropped slightly in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest data from Statistics NZ.

The latest dwelling transfer figures show 3636 homes were purchased by people with residence visas, but not NZ citizenship, in the first quarter (Q1) this year, accounting for 13.1% of total dwelling purchases.

That was down from a 14.0% market share in Q4 2023, making it the second quarter in a row migrants' share of the housing market has declined, after peaking at 14.3% in Q3 2023.

Prior to that, the market share of dwelling purchases by non-citizens had risen steadily from 8.2% in Q1 2020.

There are also fewer people with residence visas selling homes.

A total of 1173 residence visa holders sold dwellings in Q1 2024, making up 4.2% of all dwelling vendors, down from 4.4% in Q4 2023 and 4.3% in Q1 2023.

Migrants' share of dwelling sales has been slowly declining since Q1 2021, when it peaked at 5.1%.

In the 12 months to March this year, 16,884 homes were purchased by people with residence visas, giving them a record 13.8% annual market share.

However the above figures do not show total migrant participation in the housing market, because they exclude sales or purchases made by migrants who have obtained New Zealand citizenship.

So the total impact that migrants have on the housing market is likely to be much greater than the above figures suggest.

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byTimmyboy|30th Apr 24, 1:04pm1714439093

A large driver of economic growth in this country involves bringing in migrants to build houses to sell to migrants. All around me on the shore are multi-unit sites being developed by Chinese developers with Chinese workers.

We will never solve the housing affordability problem unless we tackle the issue of mass immigration as each wave of housing completions is purchased (or rented out) to yet more immigrants.

It almost seems as though this is a problem we like to have.

byPalmtree08|30th Apr 24, 1:36pm1714440986

"a problem we like to have" Who is "we"? There's an agenda out there, but it's not an agenda open to public discussion, or moreso, choice.

byTimmyboy|30th Apr 24, 2:24pm1714443886

"We" in this instance are the forever-growth cultists. Without any supporting evidence whatsoever I think it includes most people.

It includes my dear 84 year old mother who says we need a large population so we can have a train system like London's. I roll my eyes and tell her that if we don't have a large population, we don't need a train system like that. She remains unconvinced.

Growth seems to be something most people want without questioning the implications. Negative consequences of growth are to be remedied with yet more growth.

With regard to immigration and housing, more immigrants will require more housing that will require more immigrant housebuilders.....and so on. And as the congestion grows, mum's train system might well eventuate after all.

bydonny11|30th Apr 24, 2:31pm1714444279

Migration is the key fuel for both our pension pyramid & property pyramid schemes. Migrants pay a lot of tax both paye & gst and receive few benefits in return. From a short term cost/benefit perspective the benefits of high migration exceed the costs significantly. They are what allows the accounts of NZ ltd. to keep its books balanced and for the current system to maintain itself. If we cut back migration to say 10,000 we would need additional taxes to fund our services (basically a CGT) and/or raising the pension age to 68-70. Or we could means test the pension. Good luck getting this past the baby boomers.

byredcows|30th Apr 24, 3:49pm1714448996