A Chinese-New Zealand real estate agent says some foreigners are buying Auckland property purely for profit.
Adam, who did not want his surname revealed, has worked in real estate in Auckland for almost four years.
"A good proportion of foreign buyers come here as speculators. They think the New Zealand housing market is very hot and the price may be in their opinion still under-valued. So they come here to buy and they have an intention to sell," he says.
He says he felt so strongly about the issue he emailed NZ First leader Winston Peters, who today put out a press release quoting Adam.
"The agent said many foreigners did not pay tax, bought and sold through their own circles and would sell in bulk and abandon New Zealand if there was a downturn in property values," says Mr Peters.
Adam, who didn't want the name of his workplace published, says it "cannot be denied" that foreign buyers are coming here to make money.
"People who are attracted to the property market of New Zealand are not necessarily those people who are attracted to the culture to the country of New Zealand. What is alarming to me is the rapid increase of Chinese businesses that only cater to the Chinese community and I think there should be a balance of harmony between all the communities," he says.
Adam says he's speaking out to help migrants and believes he'll have support from his own Chinese community.
"We should have a good system that allows skilled migrants to move to New Zealand with the intention to stay here and with the intention to contribute to our culture, our cities and our economy. I migrated to New Zealand in the early 2000s - round about 2000-2001. We came here with a sincere desire to mutually interact with the local culture not to sort of segregate ourselves and create our own community."
He admits his comments around the Auckland housing market are not based on fact, but rather his dealings with foreigners in Auckland.
"A good proportion of Chinese, they come here with bags and bags of cash. I am dealing with a lot of foreign buyers and many of them come here to buy property, to live in New Zealand with an intention for education or business, but some of them come here for investment purposes."
The New Zealand Chinese Association has been contacted for comment.
Newshub.
