ANZ and Westpace announced new policies to close off and shut down lending for foreign property investors.
Both ANZ and Westpac Banks announced earlier in the year, June 2016, that they will no longer lend to foreign buyers looking to invest in New Zealand property.
Westpac New Zealand stated very clearly that non-resident borrowers with overseas income would no longer be considered for mortgage loans.
ANZ followed suite, announcing they would effectively cease all lending to foreign borrowers, including greatly restricting their business with owner-occupied properties.
If you’re a Kiwi currently living overseas, earning and overseas income, do not worry. These restrictions do not affect you in any way if you wish to purchase property in New Zealand.
Nick Smith, the current Housing Minister, said Westpac have the right to make the decision. He was not concerned about the new policy, nor did he believe the announcement signalled and risks in the housing market.
“The evidence is that foreign buyers are a negligible impact on the housing market.”
A mortgage broker from Loan Market, Bruce Patten, believe more bank would follow ANZ and Westpacs initiative. With a few large Australian banks introducing similar rules, other smaller banks saw a huge increase in requests from overseas buyer for loans.
The labour party in New Zealand presented some interesting data last year. They showed statistics that up to 40% of Auckland houses were ending up in the hands of people with Chinese descent, who make up only 10% of the city’s population.
How do you think they came to this conclusion? The estimate was based of people with Chinese sounding names.
