PHOTO: Mike Hosking. Newstalk ZB
Is there anyone left, apart from the government, that thinks banning foreigners buying houses is a bad idea?
Westpac are the latest to tell us how it will hit the housing markets of Auckland and Queenstown. Just like everyone said it would at select committee stage when hundreds lined up. From regions, to towns, to councils, to companies, all outlining their own expectation of what sort of damage it would do to their place, or their business.
The government argued that banning foreigners would make it easier for first home buyers to get into the market. They did this without ever tangibly proving it, and they didn’t tangibly prove it because it can’t be.
The reason Westpac have pointed out Auckland and Queenstown is, of course, because foreigners, by in large, buy high end homes.
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