New Zealand is banning foreigners from buying houses. The ban will start in early 2018. The ban is to tackle the housing crisis. For the past decade, overseas buyers have been buying houses as investments. This has increased demand, which has increased house prices by over 50 per cent in ten years. New Zealanders are angry they have to pay more to buy a home. Many are priced out of the market. They cannot get on the housing ladder.
The government wants to stop overseas investors increasing house prices and make it easier for Kiwis to buy a home. It said: "We are stopping foreign speculators buying houses and driving up prices." Overseas investors will still be able to buy land to build homes on. The government stated: "Our position has always been that if you're adding to supply…then you will be able to build." It hopes the ban will "take some of the heat" out of the house market.