New Zealand should follow Australia's lead and tighten foreign investment rules around housing to make it more affordable for New Zealanders, the Green Party says.
Australia is re-introducing restrictions on foreign home ownership which mean foreign citizens need Foreign Investment Review Board permission to buy houses, and they have to sell them when they quit the country.
"Foreign investors have contributed to the speculative bubble in housing prices in Australia and New Zealand over the last five years," Green Party co-leader Russel Norman said.
"This has made housing expensive and inaccessible for ordinary New Zealanders."
Dr Norman warned investors would opt for New Zealand as a result of the restrictions.
"We need to tighten rules around housing and land in order to help make housing more affordable for New Zealand citizens and residents," he said.
