Decline in Housing Market Participation by Migrants with Residence Visas Noted in Q1 2024

Date Published: 1 May 2024

Key Facts

• Migrants’ share of the New Zealand housing market decreased slightly in Q1 2024, accounting for 13.1% of total dwelling purchases.
• This number represents a fall from the 14.0% market share in Q4 2023, marking the second decline in a row.
• In Q1 2024, 3636 homes were purchased by people holding residence visas but without NZ citizenship.
• The number of residence visa holders selling homes also reduced, with 1173 such individuals selling their properties in Q1 2024, which is 4.2% of all dwelling vendors.
• These figures do not include transactions made by migrants who have obtained New Zealand citizenship, hinting that their actual impact on the housing market may be significantly higher.

Article Summary

A recent decline has been observed in the portion of the housing market accounted for by migrants, as per the latest data from Statistics NZ. In the first quarter (Q1) of this year, 13.1% of total home purchases were made by individuals with residence visas but lacking New Zealand citizenship. This figure represents a decline from the 14.0% market share of Q4 2023, and it’s the second consecutive quarter showing such a drop. These trends emerge after a peak of 14.3% in Q3 2023.

The same period saw fewer residence visa holders selling properties, with 1173 such individuals accounting for 4.2% of all home vendors in Q1 2024. This represents a drop from the 4.4% in Q4 2023 and 4.3% in Q1 2023.

However, these numbers do not reflect the full influence migrants have on the housing market, as they omit transactions conducted by migrants who have gotten New Zealand citizenship. Therefore, the total impact of migrants on the housing market is notably higher than these figures portray.

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