With one billion serious savers and more than a million millionaires, a new generation of Chinese investors are making their presence felt in the New Zealand property market.
Bruce Whillans, executive Director of Ray White Commercial Auckland has noted a huge upswing in the last 12 months from Chinese buyers – noting that Ray White Commercial Auckland sold $450 million worth of commercial property last year – $150m of which went to Chinese buyers. The chinese investor market “has grown exponentially” Bruce notes – to the point where he is investigating hiring Chinese-speaking staff to man a dedicated Asian Business Desk within his office.
Bruce notes three main types of commercial investor: Those who had moved permanently to New Zealand and were already well-established,( with a house and other investments here); Those who had sent their children to study here but were hoping to relocate the whole family to this country at a later date and were buying assets in anticipation of the move; and more established wealthy China-based corporate investors and individuals.
The New Zealand residential property market is also witnessing a dramatic increase from Chinese buyers. “New Zealand is the fastest growing country for Chinese property buyers,” says Simon Henry, co-CEO of Juwai.com. This exciting shift has created a very significant market that is vital for us to tap in to. New Zealand houses appeal due to the fact that they are usually freehold (rather than the standard 70-year lease granted in China) and aren’t taxed as highly as those in China – while offering far better returns. While some purchasers are looking for homes to live in, others would like to buy a property for a relative or a friend – and some are simply looking for investment property. It’s no surprise that the media are reporting that overseas investment has hit a seven year high.
Non-New Zealand residents are allowed to buy property in New Zealand (but it is worth noting that the purchase of property does not give the buyer a right to live permanently in New Zealand. There are several restrictions on the types of properties that can be purchased by non-citizens or permanent residents without government permission – these form part of the New Zealand Governments Foreign Investment Policy and are administered by the Overseas Investment Office (OIO).
Although there were still some difficulties for potential buyers moving large amounts of money out of China, shifting up to about US$10m a year overseas was “do-able.” Bruce Whillans noted. “So they tend to buy a nice family home for say $2m to $2.5m and a car and invest the rest.” Consequently Whillans gets many of his investor referrals from residential property agents within the wider Ray White branch network.
Ray White is committed to the ‘Asia Century’ and recognises the importance of the increasing integration between the economies of New Zealand with Asia as Karen Hall, Ray White Chief Marketing Officer notes. Ray White has been active in Asia for nearly 20 years and now has over 130 offices – including in Indonesia which was ranked No. 1 Winner of Top Brand Award in the Property Agent Category 2013. This success has encouraged the opening of offices in China, India, Malaysia and South Korea with a Singapore office due to open in early 2014.
In today’s market, achieving the highest possible price requires considering an Asia marketing strategy. Google data shows that Chinese interest in New Zealand real estate websites is up dramatically year on year. So, to achieve the highest possible price today, Asian markets should be considered as part of our planning. Ray White New Zealand are currently developing a Chinese Marketing Toolkit to release to our Group.
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