The New Zealand government has banned the sale of existing homes to foreign buyers.

The New Zealand government has banned the sale of existing homes to foreign buyers, saying New Zealanders were sick of being "tenants in our own land." Associate minister of finance David Parker said the ban would mean housing would become more affordable for locals, and supply would increase. "That is to benefit New Zealanders who have their shoulder to the wheel of the New Zealand economy, pay tax here, have families here. We do not think they should be outbid by wealthier people from overseas. " Only a quarter of adults in New Zealand own their own home, compared with half in 1991, and in the last five years homeless figures have increased, with some New Zealanders forced to live in cars, garages and under bridges. A report by the Economist in 2017 found New Zealand had the most unffordable house prices in the world, with prices in Auckland climbing 75% in the last four years, although the market has cooled in recent months. According to the latest figures from New Zealand statistics, 3.3% of homes sold in the last quarter were to foreigners, with the bulk of Chinese buyers followed by Australians. Tax residents of the UK, US and Hong Kong were also among the largest buyers of property. The ban on foreign ownership is at the heart of the government's plan to tackle the housing crisis, as well as its commitment to build 100,000 affordable new homes in ten years, and increase social housing stock by 6400 homes in four years. The opposition's national spokeswoman Amy Adams said the foreign buyer's ban was "xenophobic", and said it had already sent a chill through the international business investment community, with business confidence falling to its lowest level since 2008. The ban applies to all nationalities except buyers from Singapore and Australia. New Zealand has become a destination for Chinese, Australian and Asian buyers and has gained a reputation as a bolthole for the world's wealthy.