Changes to New Zealand’s foreign house buyer laws which came into effect in early March this year have sparked major interest in the Southern Lakes luxury real estate market.

Parliament’s law change means people who qualify for the Active Investor Plus (AIP) visa can purchase or build a home – but the property needs to cost a minimum of $5 million. The new policy is designed to attract high-value investors who are making a substantial commitment to New Zealand both personally and financially through obtaining what is dubbed the golden visa.

New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty (NZSIR) managing director Mark Harris says high-net- worth individuals from overseas are shortlisting property in Queenstown, Arrowtown and Wanaka.

“We’ve seen a noticeable pick up in enquiry and actual viewings. High-net-worth individuals are now increasingly physically present in Queenstown and Auckland for viewings rather than just enquiring from a distance.”

He says private jets are arriving at Queenstown Airport regularly and buyers have been visiting from the US, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Hong Kong , Japan and China. Properties attracting the most interest are residential homes above $10 million in the Southern Lakes as well as blue chip areas in Auckland. Mark says nationally NZSIR’s $5 million plus sales are up 55.6 per cent compared to the same period last year with the Southern Lakes being the dominant high-value market accounting for nearly 80 per cent of the company’s property transactions over $5 million.

Recently the company’s Queenstown office recorded one of its busiest weeks in a long time with 14 sales, one over $10 million and another for more than $7 million. International interest is also reflected in NZSIR’s website traffic which Mark attributes to the rule changes to the Overseas Investment Act.

“Website visits from internationals living in the United States have increased by 61 per cent while Australian users have increased by 24 per cent compared to this time last year. Our website traffic is a solid demand indicator and from what we can see in these early stages of the AIP update the demand is definitely there.”