Indians looking to build an international real estate portfolio now have a new investment destination — Auckland, in New Zealand. With 31 per cent of the country’s population (around 1.3 million at present) living there, Auckland is New Zealand’s prime financial centre with the fastest growth rate in the country.

By 2050 Auckland’s population is expected to double, and an extra 268,000 homes will be required for this growing population by 2025, making real estate an ideal investment option.

“New Zealand has substantially recovered from the global financial crisis ahead of the pack,” says Steven Molnar, a banker and a specialist in real estate investment in Australasia. “The Auckland CBD apartment market is experiencing a resurgence of activity, with property prices, which had dropped by 10 per cent post recession, coming back to where they were in 2007,” he adds.

“With foreign investment-friendly policies like no capital gains tax, no stamp duty, no land tax and no inheritance tax, New Zealand could be an ideal destination for Indian investors,” says Tanaya Kwasza, director, Catalyst, an investment division of Ray White, New Zealand’s leading real estate company and an investment strategist.

The property being showcased to Indian investors is Waldorf St Martins, a fully managed serviced property with 119 two-bedroom and 36 onebedroom units. Nestled in the heart of Auckland, the 18-storey property “is perfectly situated to take advantage of the growth in international tourists and business travellers in New Zealand,” says Kwasza. An investor can rent out his unit to tourists and visiting businessmen looking at short (up to two weeks), medium (two-three months), and long (semipermanent) stay in the city.

In order to ensure cash flow of the investor the management of Waldorf St Martins will enter into a 10-year guaranteed rent agreement with him/her.