New research released today shows there is little evidence that new immigrants drive up local house prices, said Immigration Minister Clayton Cosgrove and Housing Minister Maryan Street.

Mr Cosgrove said the research report - Housing Markets and Migration: Evidence from New Zealand - makes it clear that although a small link between population growth and local house prices was found, the main driver was not new immigrants.

“Interestingly though, the report did find an association between New Zealanders returning home and local house price increases during the period studied, 1986-2006,” he said. 

The report was one of two released today by the Department of Labour which investigate the links between housing and migration. The other report, The Economic Impact of Immigration on Housing in New Zealand 1991-2016, looked at links between immigration and housing demand and supply, and gave special attention to trends in Auckland. 

Maryan Street said this report showed, for example, that whether people rented or owned a home depended far more on whether they were single or in a relationship than on which country they were born in. 

The report also predicts that demand for new dwellings is not expected to exceed supply, though in Auckland particularly there may need to be a shift in the type of new dwellings being built because of growing demand for flats and apartments. 

Both research reports form part of the Department of Labour’s three-year research programme, Economic Impacts of Immigration (EII). Housing Markets and Migration: Evidence from New Zealand was prepared by Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, on behalf of the Department of Labour. It can be viewed online at: http://dol.govt.nz/publications/research/migration-and-housing/summary.asp