Government figures which show foreigners bought five times as much New Zealand land last year as the year before are not an accurate guide to foreign ownership, Land Information Minister Mark Mitchell says. The OIO said 466,000ha of land was sold to offshore buyers in 2016 - five times more than the previous year. Net sales of New Zealand land had been consistent over the past decade, he said. Land Information NZ began keeping records of the number of houses being bought by offshore tax residents in 2015. However, it is not considered a register of foreign ownership because it counts corporations and trusts as New Zealand residents.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 19, 2017 20:02 UTC