Member of Parliament for Northland
26 JULY 2016
Another Kick in Teeth for Kiwi Home Buyers
Real estate company Ray White’s decision to market homes to 260 million Chinese is another kick in the teeth to New Zealanders trying to buy their first homes, says New Zealand First.
“We have a major housing crisis and it is now going to be made worse by this targeting of Chinese buyers,” New Zealand First Leader and Northland Member of Parliament Rt Hon Winston Peters.
“Lianjia, also known as Homelink, is China’s largest real estate agency with 6000 branches in over 25 cities in China.
“New Zealanders will now have even greater competition for what housing is coming on the market, especially in Auckland.
“At the same time we have record immigration which in the past year has gone up 8 per cent up with 125,000 coming here with a net gain of 69,100,” Mr Peters says.
“Why won’t this National Government put a stop to it?”
ENDS
作者: NewLynnHse 时间: 2016-7-27 23:18:01
Ray White Real Estate, which is aiming to advertise more New Zealand homes in China, shares the public's concerns about house prices, it says - prompting scepticism from opposition MPs.
Ray White has partnered with Chinese real estate company Lianjia, also known as Homelink, to give it access to several hundred million potential Chinese buyers.
A spokesperson said it was not the case that every New Zealand property it was selling would be advertised in China - but vendors would have the opportunity to do so.
Chinese buyers interested in purchasing in Australasia would be directed to Ray White through the partnership too.
A Ray White spokesperson said: "We share some of the same concerns around affordability that have been expressed by New Zealand nationals ... and the lack of restrictions around foreign buyer activity in New Zealand give many people reason for concern."
The spokesperson said it would nevertheless be remiss of the company not to "explore and embark on international partnerships".
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said Ray White's actions were just the latest kick in the teeth for New Zealanders wanting to buy a home.
"Ray White is marketing to 260 million Chinese in 25 cities," Mr Peters said.
"My take on that is that this government is doing nothing about the crisis with respect to massive demand for housing in Auckland at all, and this just more evidence of it."
The housing crisis was about to get worse, he said.
Labour leader Andrew Little was doubtful about the real estate company's sincerity.
"They're a commercial operator - they're in it for a buck," he said.
"If they shared the concerns that many New Zealanders had, they wouldn't be marketing New Zealand properties in China. The reality is it's the non-resident offshore buyers who are putting undue upward pressure on house prices - especially in Auckland."作者: houjin4685 时间: 2016-7-27 23:45:54