Chasing China dollars
Investors power property
Looser visa requirements are adding fuel to the growing Chinese fascination with Kiwi real estate, an Australian-based Chinese property website believes.
New Zealand is fifth on Juwai’s list of hottest real estate destinations, and searches on its website for New Zealand property jumped 127 per cent year on year in October last year. Enquiries rose 80 per cent. Juwai, which handled enquiries on $1 billion worth of New Zealand property last year, said there was an ’’incontrovertible link’’ between relaxed visitor visas something New Zealand had done in 2013 - and rising investment or real estate deals.
Juwai’s spokesman Dave Platter said the Chinese, like Kiwis, preferred real estate because they trusted it.
‘‘Real estate isn’t always something that they can use for an investment visa but in terms of going overseas to diversify their capital, they trust real estate - not to the exclusion of other investments, but they do like to buy property overseas’’.
Like New Zealand, many countries have eased their visa policies towards China to capture a share of its lucrative investment market.
Analysts Goldman Sachs estimates that by 2025, Chinese tourism will be worth $420 billion worldwide and that the Chinese will own $220b in overseas real estate.
As a result, a string of countries including Japan, Australia, Turkey, South Korea, Malaysia and Nepal have altered their visa policies to boost their tourism industries.
The Philippines is even talking about visa-free travel for Chinese visitors, while 10 European countries offer ‘‘golden visas’’ which offer residency permits to those investing in property.
These countries are commonly offering visas with a ten-year validity, simpler application processes and reduced visa fees.
But immigration specialists say New Zealand’s visa concessions have been pretty mild.
Its biggest step was to lengthen multiple-entry visas for Chinese business people and independent travellers in 2013.
‘‘The extended visa makes it easier for Chinese visitors to come to New Zealand because if they return within two years they do not have to repeat the visa application process,’’ Immigration NZ area manager Darren Calder said.
Last year the Government made more adjustments, beefing up its Chinese immigration operations and making it easier to apply online.
It also streamlined the visa process for ‘‘high value’’ customers of some Chinese corporates like airlines and banks.
Streamlining means wealthy individuals don’t have to show they have enough money to support themselves, although they still have to meet character tests.
While global interest in migrating to New Zealand was rising, the Government was not handing out more residency permits, David Cooper of immigration consultancy Malcolm Pacific said.
Through tourism, more wellheeled Chinese were being exposed to what New Zealand had to offer - but so were a rising number of British and American tourists, he said.
‘‘If there’s a connection between more visitors equals more nonresidents buying residential property, then the same argument is going to apply to them as well.
‘‘Everything has a roll on effect. The more tourists you get coming to New Zealand, the more people will look at New Zealand and say hey, maybe this is not just a great place to buy a home, but maybe this is a great place to live.’’
Data on Chinese buyers of New Zealand property is still fairly patchy. Issuance of a special visa for foreign investors was still small, about 300.
‘‘The issue a lot of those applicants face is that the Chinese government has made it more and more difficult to get their money out of China and there’s even the possibility in July that those rules are going to get tougher,’’ Cooper said.
Less affluent property buyers who still live offshore are now recorded in New Zealand to comply with anti-money laundering laws.
No figures are kept on buyers with residency or who were born here.
They trust real estate - not to the exclusion of other investments, but they do like to buy property overseas. Dave Platter, Juwai
Top 5 countries for Chinese property enquiries (Juwai)
The most popular are: United States, Australia, Canada, UK and New Zealand.