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New Zealand Delays Opening Real Estate To Foreign Buyers Until 2026

Wellington delays the NZ$5 million real estate carve-out until 2026; experts split on whether it’s “mostly noise.”

New Zealand has pushed back changes to its foreign home buyer rules, currently before Parliament at second reading, until the first half of 2026, delaying plans to let Active Investor Visa Plus (AIP) holders buy or build homes worth NZ$5 million (~US$2.8 million) or more.

The timeline slip undercuts earlier political assurances that the law would pass this year, and pushes pending decisions for buyers and sellers into next year.

What will change:

  • The proposal will allow AIP visa holders to purchase or build a single home valued at NZ$5 million or more. The AIP investment criteria themselves do not change. Any home purchase is in addition to the qualifying investment, also a minimum of NZ$5 million.
  • Since 2018, only citizens, tax residents, and Australians or Singaporeans have been able to buy residential property freely. Until the bill passes, that status quo remains.

Local media reports that there are just under 10,000 properties nationwide valued at NZ$5m or more, with around 7,000 ready to live in. Most are concentrated in Auckland and Queenstown Lakes, and sales at that level are rare, about 0.2% of transactions last year.

After the second reading, the bill goes to the Committee of the Whole House, then a third reading for a final vote.

If it passes, it gets Royal assent and becomes law, with a start date set in the Act or by Order in Council. That will be the point at which the new rules take effect.

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Is The Reform “Mostly Noise”?

Mischa Mannix-Opie, Director of Client Experience at Greener Pastures New Zealand, said the reform “is a meaningful signal” that puts the country back on the radar for ultra-wealthy families seeking both a home and residency, albeit cautioning against overplaying foreign interest.

She adds that most serious AIP investors choose New Zealand for “lifestyle, safety, and long-term optionality,” implying that real estate was never the main attraction.

In her view, the ability to buy a NZ$5 million-plus home complements the AIP visa by creating “a much more complete proposition”: long-term residency plus a place to live, and she thinks the decision is unlikely to affect housing affordability.

James Hall, Director of ANZ Migrate, says AIP holders who already live in New Zealand can buy property under current settings, so the proposed exemption mainly targets offshore applicants. As such, he sees “no real pull factor” and expects the change to draw attention but amount to “mostly noise” with little market impact.

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