High net worth individuals are buying properties in New Zealand at a record pace.
The country’s Overseas Investment Office, which monitors foreign direct investment, reports land sales have surged some 600 percent year-over-year from 2015 to 2016. And interest is reportedly growing.
Net immigration hit an all-time high last year, with a large lot of billionaires among them.
Sustainability and security are cited by many observers and media reports as reasons for the spike in luxury property sales. “Uber-rich seek boltholes in New Zealand,” headlined the Financial Times last weekend. And The New Yorker magazine recently quoted LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman as saying the country is safe haven “insurance” for the ultra-rich.
Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel and film director James Cameron are among a string of rich and famous people who have plunked down serious cash for luxury properties in New Zealand. Cameron reportedly paid $20 million for his Wairarapa farm properties, for example.
New Zealand is about 2,500 miles from the coast of Australia and some 7,800 from the United States.
Famously picturesque, New Zealand rural countryside can be seen in the "Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" films. Its lush landscape is relatively sparsely populated and littered with lakes, mountains, valleys and green fields.
While some have been quick to credit alarm about Donald Trump’s presidency for the rise in “off-the-grid” luxury property sales (advertisements tout private water supplies, energy sources and farmland), others cite strong economic growth and a booming housing market as truer factors. Moreover, New Zealand has been long thought of as a place to stash cash: It has secretive trust rules that are not easily punctured.
Whatever the reasoning, preparing for End Times or investing for good times ahead, one thing is for sure: The super-rich are heading for Kiwis’ shores.