Australian tax changes lift New Zealand home searches

Australian property seekers have increased their searches for New Zealand homes on realestate.co.nz following changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing in Australia.

Data from the property website showed the number of Australia-based people searching for property rose 163.4% year on year in May and 189.8% in August. Activity also remained above year-earlier levels across property views, enquiries and saved listings during the four months after the tax changes were announced.

The figures suggest interest extended beyond casual browsing. Property views from Australian users rose 121.8% in May from a year earlier, while enquiries increased 134.5% and saved properties rose 79.4%.

By August, views were still up 62.9% year on year, enquiries had increased 54.7%, and saved properties were 44.3% higher. All figures compare each month in 2026 with the same month in 2025.

Sarah Wood, Chief Executive of realestate.co.nz, said the jump in demand had been stronger than expected.

"We expected the announcement to have a flow-on effect to New Zealand, but the scale and speed of the shift have been striking. Australians aren't just browsing - they're searching, saving properties and making enquiries at levels well above what we were seeing a year ago," Wood said.

Target regions

Auckland, Central Otago and Canterbury drew the most attention from Australian users, with houses the dominant property type in searches. Those regions also had relatively more stock available than some other parts of the market.

Auckland property stock was up 11.5% year on year in August. Central Otago and the Lakes District, along with Canterbury, were among four regions nationally where new listings increased during the month, rising 1.9% and 3.6% respectively.

The pattern points to a link between demand from abroad and parts of the New Zealand market where supply has been building. It also comes as prices have remained relatively flat in some areas and exchange rate movements may improve affordability for buyers using Australian dollars.

Wood said those conditions were likely to matter.

"A strong supply of homes available, relatively flat prices and a favourable exchange rate will be of real appeal for those looking from over the ditch. And while more competition from across the ditch might not be what every Kiwi buyer wants to hear, additional buyer interest could be welcome news for vendors," Wood said.

City split

Sydney produced the largest increase in traffic after the Australian tax announcement, with user numbers up 121.3%. Brisbane and Perth recorded smaller increases of 41.5% and 40.8%, but users from those cities showed stronger engagement on the site.

According to the data, Brisbane and Perth visitors returned more often and saved more properties per person than those from Sydney. That distinction matters because repeat visits and saved listings can indicate a more active search process than one-off browsing.

Australia's government changed tax settings affecting residential property investors by restricting negative gearing on residential property to new builds and replacing the 50% capital gains tax discount with new arrangements. The changes reduced some of the tax advantages that had supported investment in existing housing stock.

This has prompted closer scrutiny of overseas markets, with New Zealand emerging as one alternative destination in the realestate.co.nz data. The platform's figures do not show completed purchases, but they do provide an early indication of where cross-border buyer attention is moving.

Wood said behaviour on the site offered a clearer measure than raw traffic alone.

"Traffic numbers tell us we've caught their attention. What they do on-site tells us much more. When people are coming back, saving properties and making enquiries, we're seeing behaviour that goes beyond a passing curiosity about what their money might buy across the Tasman," Wood said.