This week’s announcement that the government is about to amend the so-called "foreign buyers ban" — a policy which he was instrumental in bringing into effect when in government with Labour — was an outstanding example of his chameleon-like qualities.
An exercise in populist economic nationalism, stopping pesky foreigners from snapping up homes before hardworking Kiwis had the chance to buy them played well to the NZF base.
Introduced to curb speculative investment in local property markets, particularly in Auckland, it did come with an inherent problem which the introduction of new visa categories sought to solve: how to cater for genuine would-be migrant investors to New Zealand who now had difficulty in buying a home of their own in this country.
That was the conundrum which the government sought to solve this week. While maintaining a ban on foreigners buying New Zealand residential housing, holders of an Active Investor Plus residency visa will now be able to buy themselves a family home.
However, it won’t be any average family home. It will need to cost more than $5 million.
A glance at Trademe property yesterday shows of about 34,000 total listings in all categories, just 352 were priced at $5m or above. Bad luck for the likes of Southland, Taranaki and Marlborough: there are no such priced listings for potential wealthy investors in those provinces to move into.
Predictably, about two-thirds of those listings are in Auckland, and very des res they look too.
Another 51 are in the Lakes region; realtors of top-end properties in Queenstown and Wanaka will be delighted no doubt.
The $5m threshold was the work of Mr Peters, who knew both his National and Act New Zealand coalition partners wanted change in this area: he quite literally set his price for granting NZF’s support.
The man who is also Racing Minister is essentially having a dollar each way here: he wants to be the man who let the likes of Hollywood star Jason Momoa fulfil his long-stated wish to move to New Zealand, but also be the man who kept foreigners out of Auckland real estate auction rooms.
This left opposition parties crying foul, claiming hypocrisy, and arguing that the policy change would drive house prices up.
The hypocrisy charge will bother Mr Peters not one jot: he will pitch himself, with some justification, as being the leader of a reasonable party which is able to secure practical compromises.
The property prices argument certainly has some validity for the top end of the market, but given that is just 1% of property listings it is difficult to see how prices in Brockville or Bellknowes will be overly affected. There are only four properties in Dunedin listed in the $2m-$4m range, and two of those are large acreage blocks. Nothing listed in the city nears the $5m threshold.
Also, those foreign buyers will need to be bringing their cash in with them, rather than draining funds otherwise available to local buyers away from lenders.
This looks like a reasonable move by the government, but its impact on the Lakes area, and Queenstown in particular, will need to be watched closely. That is one market which could well be affected by the $5m threshold: builders and developers will likely find those high-end projects a more enticing project than constructing the lower value residences the town badly needs.
Antlers up
Reports of the demise of provincial rugby may be premature, at least in Southland. It is indisputable that in most of New Zealand NPC rugby battles to attract a crowd, but Rugby Park in Invercargill is an exception.
Having packed the place for "Stag Day" — its annual clash with Otago — Southland again may need to dig out the Sold Out signs as it prepares to defend the Ranfurly Shield, which it deservedly won last week from a lacklustre Waikato, against Canterbury. Southland jerseys have already sold out from local retailers.
Whatever they are doing down South is working, and New Zealand Rugby no doubt wishes it could bottle it and ship that love of the game everywhere else.
