British Expats No Longer Favour New Zealand As Top Destination

A Natwest International survey has revealed that New Zealand is no longer the top destination of choice for British expatriates, it has been displaced by Australia:

“A survey commissioned by British bank NatWest has found Australia has displaced New Zealand as the top destination choice for Brits abandoning the mother country.
Brisbane has also overtaken Perth as Australia’s most popular destination for migrants.
So popular is it that, according to the third annual NatWest International Personal Banking Quality of Life report, one in every 10 Brisbanites is now a British expat.
The NatWest figures fly in the face of those in the 2006 national census, which found just 4.5 per cent of Brisbane residents were British.
But Brisbane Marketing chief executive John Aitken said there was no doubt southeast Queensland had become Australia’s fastest-growing region, with 1100 people now arriving each week from interstate and overseas. more here”

Immigration in New Zealand has virtually slowed to a trickle and could soon turn negative, economists say. Net migration has hit its lowest monthly level since late 2008, having significant implications both for the economy and the housing market.

Just 70 more people arrived in New Zealand than left in June on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to Statistics NZ, down sharply on the monthly gains of more than 1000 at the start of the year.

Net migration has hit its lowest monthly level since late 2008.

“ANZ Bank economists said the support provided to the economy from net immigration was “clearly diminishing” with arrivals trending down while departures were rising.
On current trends the prospect of New Zealand losing more people from migration, rather than gaining them as is usually the case, “is very real”, ANZ said. “This does not augur well for the housing market and domestic spending.”
There has been a slowdown in the number of migrants arriving in New Zealand, with a sharp drop in work visas in the past year. At the same time more people have been leaving, especially for Australia, since the end of last year.
Migration has been a key support for economic growth, housing and retail sales. There is a link between strong migration and rising house prices and rents, while house prices tend to fall in times of migration loss, economists say.
For example, during the economic downturn of the late 1990s, more people left New Zealand than arrived for a couple of years, and house price inflation slumped from more than 10 per cent a year to zero…more here“

Also read these recent blogs:
Migration to New Zealand continues downward spiral – 21 June 2010

“More bad news for the NZ economy today with the release of the latest set of immigration figures. Net migration has sunk to an 18 month low as more as more and more Kiwis leave for Australia…”

New Zealand Immigration Growth Continues To Slow. Trans-Tasman Departures At 12 Month High – 23 April 2010

“New Zealand’s annual immigration growth slowed for a second consecutive month in March, suggesting that the economic recovery is weaker than first thought.
The number of permanent migrant arrivals exceeded departures by 20,973 in the 12 months ended March 31, Statistics New Zealand said today in Wellington. That’s down from 21,618 in the year to February. Migration into New Zealand was in negative figures for March, which is bad news for an economy that is so dependent on a buoyant housing market and income from migrants…”

Today's posts - click here