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New Zealand had its highest monthly net gain -- more arrivals than departures -- of migrants in more than a decade in April, fueling concerns over the country' s already overheated housing market.
The net gain of 4,100 migrants in April was the second highest ever and the highest since February 2003, said a statement from the government's Statistics New Zealand agency Wednesday.
"Net migration has been positive and mostly increasing since September 2012. The increase since then was mainly due to fewer New Zealand citizens leaving for Australia, as well as more non- New Zealand citizens arriving," it said.
The net loss of 200 migrants to Australia in April was the lowest ever for the series, which began in 1996.
In the year to the end of April, migrant arrivals were up 13 percent to 98,800 and departures were down 22 percent to 64,400, resulting in a net gain of 34,400 migrants, the highest annual net gain since 2002 and 2003.
Net gains were led by arrivals from India (6,400), China (6,200) , and Britain (5,900).
The main opposition Labor Party said the new immigrants in April would require about 1,500 homes, adding to the housing crisis in the biggest cities of Auckland and Christchurch.
"More people in New Zealand means higher house prices and higher interest rates," Labor's housing spokesperson Phil Twyford said in a statement.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has raised interest rates twice already this year, taking the official cash rate from its historic low of 2.5 percent to 3 percent, and forecast further rises this year, partly on concerns of the impact of immigration on the housing market.
