However, Buying Queenstown founder and managing director Jo Eddington said new criteria for so-called ‘‘golden visa’’ holders, announced by the government this week, would encourage a steady queue of foreign investors to make the move to the area.
Ms Eddington said she was in the United States last month talking to prospective investors, and believed there was strong interest in the resort.
‘‘But I don’t think we’re going to see the volume of sales necessarily doubling overnight or anything.’’
The change means holders of an Active Investor Plus residency visa will be able to buy or build one home, worth at least $5million, while investing another $5m into approved investments.
Since 2018, buyers have usually needed to be residents or citizens to buy residential property.
Of the estimated 7000 homes worth more than $5m in New Zealand, about 1250 are in the Queenstown Lakes district.
Ms Eddington said changes to the Active Investor Plus criteria in April had left many visa holders disappointed.
‘‘They’d gone through the process... only to find there were strings attached, and they actually weren’t eligible to buy a property.
‘‘These people were committed investors, but they were like ‘we can put in up to $15m in NZ, but we can’t actually buy a house’.
‘‘A lot of them want to be involved in the companies they’re investing in — they’re bringing all the IP and the capital.’’
She doubted higher demand for $5m-plus homes in Queenstown would lead to markedly higher prices for lower-priced homes.
‘‘Potentially there’s a lot of people out there thinking ‘oh, I’ve got a $3.5m house that’s suddenly going to be worth $5m, because 1000 American buyers are going to want to buy it’.
‘‘There needs to be a bit of caution around that — these people are going to make pretty considered and informed decisions.’’
High-profile Queenstown real estate agent Hamish Walker said the eligibility change was a ‘‘positive step forward’’ for the region.
‘‘Beyond property purchases, foreign buyers bring far more than capital — they bring international networks, professional expertise and connections that benefit our community,’’ he said.
‘‘Importantly, many of these buyers are also the first to put their hands up to support community initiatives.’’
NZ Sotheby’s International Realty managing director Mark Harris said he was ‘‘delighted’’ by the government’s move.
‘‘Given the state of NZ’s economy, we need as much productive investment as we can get.
‘‘By allowing foreigners to own a holiday home here, it encourages them to invest in other business ventures in NZ, which then leads to capital expenditure and job creation.’’
Mr Harris said the impact from allowing foreign buyers to enter the New Zealand housing market was negligible, but the economic boost was significant.
‘‘The ban was introduced to assist first-home buyers, but it’s had minimal effect — prices have still increased dramatically over the past six years,’’ he said.
‘‘Allowing foreign buyers into the country while introducing a value hurdle protects the domestic buyer and limits the number of investors who can purchase.’’
