The International Monetary Fund called on New Zealand to reconsider the plan to ban foreigners from buying residential property, warning that this move may not encourage foreign direct investment needed to build new homes.
The Labor-led coalition government won the September election, in which it vowed to clamp down on rising house prices and partly reduce homelessness by banning foreign buyers.
In its annual assessment of member’s economies, the International Monetary Fund said today that the New Zealand ban would not help much in making housing more affordable.
The New Zealand Finance Minister, in response to the IMF's annual review, said the fund praised the government's economic policies, but IMF officials held a range of views on the ban on foreign ownership.
