Clayton Mitchell says Prime Minister John Key's statement was just a way to "turn attention away from the failures of this Government".
Clayton Mitchell says Prime Minister John Key's statement was just a way to "turn attention away from the failures of this Government".
Tauranga-based New Zealand First list MP Clayton Mitchell has dismissed Prime Minister John Key's comments about New Zealanders wanting Chinese buyers to increase the value of their homes as "political spin".
Speaking on Newstalk ZB yesterday, Mr Key said: "I go around the rest of the country and people say to me 'Can we have a few of those Chinese buyers in Wellington and other parts of New Zealand because actually we want our house prices to go up'."
Mr Mitchell said the comments showed Mr Key was "out of touch".
"The reality is, when you talk to the real estate agents, and the Bay of Plenty has been a booming region for a while now, they're struggling to get the number of houses on the market and when they do they're selling faster than ever."
Mr Mitchell understood Tauranga was not largely being targeted by foreign buyers of any nationality.
"We're getting Aucklanders because they're getting pushed out by foreign buyers."
Once the Government was able to provide accurate statistics on exactly how much of the country's land and property was being bought by foreign speculators, the issue could be addressed, he said.
Mr Key's statement was just a way to "turn attention away from the failures of this Government", he said.
Karen Worley, group sales and marketing manager for Eves and Bayleys, said she believed Tauranga home owners were enjoying house values going up and were not focused on the buyers. However, while current home owners were enjoying the rise it was certainly getting tougher for buyers.
John Key said many Aucklanders did not want house price inflation to fall. Photo / File
Mr Key's comment about people outside Auckland wanting Chinese buyers was not one she had heard, but if people wanted to move here, fine: "We're a multicultural society."
She had not seen a lot of foreign buyers set their sights on Tauranga. Most of the out-of-town interest came from Auckland.
A Real Estate Institute of New Zealand spokesperson said agencies throughout the upper North Island, including the Bay of Plenty, were reporting increased interest in residential properties from Auckland investors.
Labour's housing spokesman Phil Twyford said Mr Key's comments that Aucklanders wanted their house prices to keep skyrocketing showed "just how out of touch he is about the housing crisis".
Mr Key said many Aucklanders did not want house price inflation to fall because it was making them wealthier.
- Additional reporting by Isaac Davison
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