We all seem to agree that we have reached the bottom of the market and some places are seeing real life.
Spring will help and so will interest rates, once we see that they aren't going up anymore and the Reserve Bank is done with the cash rate.
That is still an open question. But the demand for houses is there and then, what if, the National Party come into Government and open the borders back up to foreign buyers?
Statistics out last week show Australia is now the number one destination for homes for the Chinese. That will, in part, be because we are largely closed but it is also stoking fears that too many foreigners cut locals out and fuel price rises.
We have been here before of course, and part of what drove the debate here last time was xenophobia.
We saw Asian-looking people at auctions and didn’t like it. The fact they were New Zealand residents or citizens never seemed to occur to us
Research work done by Tony Alexander the economist, among others, shows the number of true off-shore buyers i.e people who didn’t live here, but wanted property here, was minuscule.
That was as a result of the then Labour opposition running out their famous Chinese names list, an act they had to eventually apologise for.
But by the time they got to Government it was clear they didn’t like foreigners, hence they all got banned, bar the Australians and some from Singapore. And Singapore was only because of trade deals.
And the immigration mess ever since has been a direct result of their desire not to have foreigners in any great numbers reside in the country.
The latest figures hopefully signal an end to that nonsense. But what we need as part of the mix is the ability for people to come here and get a job, and buy a house, and feel like they are actually wanted and accepted here.
You will not get people if they can't buy property. Then buying property stimulates demand and it encourages building, as well as the skills equation, plus the cultural one as well.
The sadness is, I suspect, National want to open the market once again, but we have an angsty, old view around immigration these days. So instead of it being a common sense call, it becomes a risky one.
I also have no doubt that if they do make the call, Labour will leap all over it with their full display of xenophobic scare tactics.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
We have been here before of course, and part of what drove the debate here last time was xenophobia.
We saw Asian-looking people at auctions and didn’t like it. The fact they were New Zealand residents or citizens never seemed to occur to us
Research work done by Tony Alexander the economist, among others, shows the number of true off-shore buyers i.e people who didn’t live here, but wanted property here, was minuscule.
That was as a result of the then Labour opposition running out their famous Chinese names list, an act they had to eventually apologise for.
But by the time they got to Government it was clear they didn’t like foreigners, hence they all got banned, bar the Australians and some from Singapore. And Singapore was only because of trade deals.
And the immigration mess ever since has been a direct result of their desire not to have foreigners in any great numbers reside in the country.
The latest figures hopefully signal an end to that nonsense. But what we need as part of the mix is the ability for people to come here and get a job, and buy a house, and feel like they are actually wanted and accepted here.
You will not get people if they can't buy property. Then buying property stimulates demand and it encourages building, as well as the skills equation, plus the cultural one as well.
The sadness is, I suspect, National want to open the market once again, but we have an angsty, old view around immigration these days. So instead of it being a common sense call, it becomes a risky one.
I also have no doubt that if they do make the call, Labour will leap all over it with their full display of xenophobic scare tactics.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
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