IMF blasts New Zealand’s ‘discriminatory’ ban on home sales to foreigners
NOVANEWS
A Maori man from New Zealand © Ueslei Marcelino / Reuters
The ban on foreign ownership of homes in New Zealand, which aims to ease the housing affordability crisis, won’t improve the situation, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In its annual report, the IMF criticized the measure, claiming that “foreign buyers seem to have played a minor role in New Zealand’s residential real estate market recently.”
If the government’s broader housing policy agenda is fully implemented, that “would address most of the potential problems associated with foreign buyers on a less discriminatory basis,” it said.
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