This. We also have large numbers of Chinese coming over and buying houses because it's a safe store of value... something the Chinese government can't just take one day.

Oh wow. This is happening in Australia, but with no capital gains tax it must be worse in NZ.

I'm so sick of it. Houses should be for living in, goddamn it. Not for storing your cash out of reach of a corrupt government, as necessary a thing as that is.

Does the government in Australia also insist that it is only a tiny portion of sales, while refusing to actually gather data showing what the reality is?

Also, cost of construction is very high, which makes driving up the price of an existing house much more desireable than building a new one.

Compliance costs increased in the wake of the Christchurch earthquakes. Local councils also like to derive a fat revenue stream from subdivision consents.

Thanks in large part to our of love of duopolies here.