Source: MIL-OSI Submissions
Total home transfers drop while overseas share steady – Media release
28 July 2020
In the June 2020 quarter, the number of home transfers fell 30 percent, but the proportion of home transfers to people who didn’t hold New Zealand citizenship or a resident visa was steady at 0.4 percent, Stats NZ said today.
Over 26,000 homes were transferred during the June 2020 quarter, down 30 percent from almost 38,000 in the June 2019 quarter. The decrease began as the COVID-19 level 4 lockdown took effect on 26 March 2020 and eased as level 3 took effect on 28 April.
The number of home transfers in the June 2020 quarter is the lowest since the series began in 2016.
The proportion of home transfers to people who didn’t hold New Zealand citizenship or a resident visa has been between 0.4 and 0.6 percent per quarter since early 2019.
“Just over 100 homes were transferred to overseas people in the June 2020 quarter, down 44 percent from the June 2019 quarter,” property statistics manager Dave Adair said.
“However, the proportion of overseas buyers was steady at 0.4 percent, as total home transfers fell over the same period.”
“In the June 2020 quarter, areas with the highest number of overseas home buyers continue to be Waitematā local board (Auckland inner city) and Queenstown-Lakes district,” Mr Adair said.
While the overall number of home transfers in Queenstown-Lakes district fell almost a third in the June 2020 quarter, the proportion of home transfers to people who didn’t hold NZ citizenship or a resident visa held up at 4 percent.
June quarter drop in home transfers varied by region and buyer type
In the June 2020 quarter, compared with the June 2019 quarter, the number of home transfers fell across all regions and for most buyer types by affiliation to NZ.
Total home transfers fell 30 percent nationally, with regional falls ranging from 23 percent in Auckland to 39 percent in Gisborne.
The fall in the total number of home transfers also varied by buyer type, with larger decreases in the two smallest groups:
- at least one NZ citizen – down 31 percent to 20,955
- corporate – down 27 percent to 2,919
- at least one NZ resident visa (but no citizens) – down 42 percent to 2,289
- no NZ citizens or resident visas – down 44 percent to 102.
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