How many golden visa property deals have been made so far?
Wednesday, 15 April 2026
A luxury penthouse in Auckland and a lakeside property near Queenstown are just two of the properties snapped up by “golden visa” holders since the rules changed in March.
Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) said the Overseas Investment Office has approved eight sales to overseas buyers who are part of the active investor plus visa scheme as at April 13.
A LINZ spokesperson said the properties sold were in Auckland, Hawke’s Bay, and Queenstown, and the buyers were from China, the US, South Korea and Germany.
The office was unable to release more details of the location or value of any of the properties involved, but the spokesman said a further four applications to buy properties had been received.
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Until recently, overseas citizens - excluding Australians and Singaporeans - were banned from buying residential properties in New Zealand.
But that has changed with the Government’s overhaul of the “golden visa” scheme, and a drive to encourage foreign investors to “choose New Zealand as a destination for their capital”.
Last October it was announced the ban would be lifted for those with an “active investor plus” (AIP) visa, and from March 6 those visa holders have been able to buy or build a home worth more than $5 million.
To qualify, buyers first have to make a $5m to $15m investment into New Zealand businesses or funds.
The change has attracted interest from overseas buyers since first announced, but those working in the field say inquiries have increased since the war in the Middle East began.
In Queenstown, buyers agent Jo Eddington secured the South Island's first AIP property deal - a lakeside property on Arrowtown-Lake Hayes Road.
She said once the rule changes came into effect many overseas buyers had swung into action, and now many of her clients were from overseas and came under the AIP visa, she said.
“These buyers are well-advised and well-capitalised, and they are moving with intent. New Zealand is not the only country in the world that has ‘golden visas’ and that they could choose to go to.
“Overseas buyers coming here are committed as part of a wider strategy. For them, it’s about lifestyle and also security.”
She said the buyers in the deal she was involved with fit that bill. They were a German family, who had visited New Zealand several times over the 4½ months she had been working with them.
“They are relatively young, with kids off to university soon and they’re looking to permanently relocate here over the next few years.
“This is not just a holiday home or ‘plan B’ purchase for them. They wanted a long-term base which is safe and politically stable.”
Eddington did not disclose the sale price, but said the family had bought the property sight unseen, based on the view, and planned to knock down the existing property and build anew.
While the starting value for AIP purchases was $5m, most of the buyers she was working with were interested in the $8m to $15m range.
“There have been more than 600 AIP visa applications now. We are not likely to see 600 overseas buyers stampeding in to try and buy houses, but there’s definitely an appetite there.”
She hoped to get a property under contract for another European AIP buyer in the next week, with due diligence on the deal currently underway.
Scarlett Wood, from NZ Sotheby’s International Realty, sold an Auckland luxury apartment to a “golden visa” holder last week. She could not disclose many details of the sale, but said the price was well above $5m.
She had been working with the buyer for over a year, but had a lot more overseas buyers that she had been actively scouting properties with, she said.
“The AIP pathway to buying property is hugely appealing to overseas buyers. On March 6, the day the rules changed, I had 16 viewings of Auckland apartments with three different buyers.
“That was particularly busy but inquiries remain around that level. I’m talking to lots of overseas buyers every week.”
NZ Sotheby’s International Realty managing director Mark Harris said he was aware of two more AIP deals currently being worked on by agents with his agency.
Inquiries and web traffic from offshore people had increased over the last three months, but offshore interest and web traffic had picked up even more over recent weeks - probably due to geopolitical issues, he said.
“Forty to fifty per cent of our web traffic is from US-based people, with the next biggest group of offshore interest coming from Germany and Switzerland.
“We are also seeing families from Hong Kong and Singapore in the market looking. And in terms of web traffic we’ve seen a big increase from the UAE over the last few weeks.”
A common theme was that they were looking for themselves, but also for future generations, he said.
“They are thinking about protection from future offshore geopolitical turbulence and issues. They are interested in education possibilities for their kids, and the Kiwi lifestyle.”
Harris said there had been a significant pick up in inquiries about properties in the $10m to $20m category, although there was not a huge amount of stock in that space.
One property, St Algidus Station on the Canterbury plains, was in the $40m plus range, and had attracted 200 inquiries, with a large number of them from overseas, particularly the US, he said.
“This is a positive development. Inquiries are coming from high-worth individuals who are interested in moving to New Zealand to live here with their families, and in investing in the country.”
Paterson Luxury owner Caleb Paterson said he had not yet been involved in any AIP purchases, but he was flat out with such clients at the moment.
He took one client to view a property in Tauranga last weekend, and another to a property in Queenstown the week before, for example.
There was strong and active interest from the US, but also from Germans, and Asian buyers were starting to come online now too, he said.
“We find interest tends to focus on properties in central Auckland, Matakana, and Queenstown. Clients tend to prefer properties 45 minutes from the airport or the CBD.
“So in Auckland that’s up to Matakana and Omaha, but also premium central Auckland suburbs such as Herne Bay and St Heliers, and then Queenstown.”
It was exciting - and much needed - times for the high-end market, he said.
“We didn’t have a lot of buyers at that top end of the market, but now the AIP pathway has opened it up a lot and that wealth will flow through to the economy.”