The number of people interested in moving to New Zealand has skyrocketed, and they’re interested in local real estate.
For New Zealand-born Londoner Daniel Harden, he’s come home after 14 years because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said the UK was getting “pretty messy and pretty ugly”.
Mr Harden said New Zealand was “the best country in the world” to live in post-Covid-19.
“I was queuing at the supermarket for two hours daily just to get groceries and there was nothing on the shelves.”
Predicting an influx of returnees, he’s made sure to buy a house.
Immigration New Zealand’s website has also seen a surge in traffic and people are continuing to send in applications.
That’s despite borders staying shut and most visas not being processed, with more than 100,000 currently held in a queue.
The number of views on the site from Americans has jumped by 65 per cent to 80,000 compared to July last year. From the UK for the same time period, the number of views is up 18 per cent to 31,000.
David Cooper, Malcolm Pacific's director of client services, said they were also seeing a high number of inquiries from the US, Europe, Switzerland, Austria and the UK.
“We’re getting a lot of inquiries from successful business people who are wanting to come to New Zealand to invest in New Zealand … and look for new opportunities.”
Tommy’s Real Estate said a quarter of its internet traffic has come from overseas.
“I think this will continue for probably for four or five months,” Wellington real estate agent Nicki Cruickshank said.
She said a lot of people were buying real estate before seeing it in person, turning to technology instead to see floor plans and videos.
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