New zealand property joins chinese investor wishlist

Wellington, New Zealand Photo: Keno McDonnell

New Zealand was not even in the top 50 search destinations on the Chinese portal in 2012, but in June 2013, the country climbed to 15th in the charts. Now, it has broken into the top 10 for the first time, ahead of even Spain.

"We were doing very few sales with Chinese buyers a few years ago. Now, they account for the largest number of sales of any international buyer group."
Andrew Taylor, co-CEO of the site, tells OPP Connect.

Chinese buyers particularly targeted property in Auckland, Kerikeri, Dunedin, Taupo and Northland, according to Juwai.com.

The rise in interest follows a similar trend in nearby Australia. Indeed, according to Juwai.com's data, Chinese investment in Australian property has climbed 75 per cent in the last two years.

Juwai.com says Chinese investors are primarily motivated by capital growth in under-valued real estate markets, as well as education opportunities for their children and other lifestyle reasons.

The figures have been backed up by Juwai.com deciding to partner up with RE/MAX agency in New Zealand and Australia to display all of its property listings.

Michael Davoren, Managing Director of RE/MAX Australia and New Zealand, predicts their deal is the start of a trend in the real estate industry: “I believe that within 12 months, every good agent in Australia and New Zealand will be listing their properties as a matter of course on Juwai.com. The market is too important to ignore.

Indeed, the announcement follows a similar agreement between US site Zillow and a Chinese site, Leju.

According to Knight Frank, Chinese investment in international property will double this year.