Overseas property buyers aren't affecting Tauranga property prices says the latest Land Information New Zealand (LINZ).

The report shows the tax residency of people buying property in New Zealand from January 1 to March 31, this year.

Land Information New Zealand released the data this week on property transfers and the tax status of buyers and sellers and says it is not a register of foreign ownership.

The report comes after claims foreign residents were buying New Zealand homes and driving up housing prices.

Overseas buyers have bought 54 properties in Tauranga. The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) recorded 421 properties sold in the region during the same period – making foreign ownership just over 3.5 per cent of the total sales.

This is similar to national figures which showed 3 per cent (or 1158) of the 45,140 property transfers were to buyers with an overseas tax residency.

Of these, the biggest group of buyers were from China and the second biggest buyer group was from Australia.

However, LINZ chief executive Peter Mersi says the report was not a register of foreign ownership.

'That's because tax residency is not the same as nationality.

'For example, a New Zealander living and paying tax in the UK who bought a house in New Zealand would be included in this information as having overseas tax residency.”

Trust companies and businesses have been removed from the data, but the data could be skewed by temporary tax residents included in the New Zealand tax residency bracket.

Land Information Minister Louise Upston says we shouldn't to read too much into just two quarters.

'But the data indicates that overseas tax residents are behind a relatively small proportion of property transfers.”

Subsequent reports collected over time will allow the Government to monitor trends in the tax residency of property buyers, she says.

Neighbouring regions Rotorua and Taupo had 15 and 27 properties sold to overseas buyers respectively.

New Zealand First housing spokesperson Denis O'Rourke questioned the data.

'The data released on who is buying housing is only for the first three months of the year. It was collected from a one-page questionnaire that has holes all through it.

'Even Land Information NZ and the Minister recognise the data is lightweight, but they put it out anyway.”

Labour Party housing spokesman Phil Twyford says the new date is misleading.

'The Government excluded trusts and companies for the bizarre reason that too many of them claimed to be offshore.

'When you add back in the trusts and companies – as well as those buyers excluded from calculations because they rushed to sign a contract before the new law came in – the true number would be higher.

'Reasonable analysis of the Government's own raw data suggests there could be three to four times more houses being sold to offshore speculators; closer to 16,000 a year than the 3390 the Housing Minister is claiming.”