The number of properties selling at auction has dropped.

Chinese property investors have become noticeably absent from the Auckland property market.

Chinese buyers have been credited with adding heat to the city's 20 per cent per year price inflation. But new rules introduced at the beginning of this month seem to have put a dramatic stop to buyers' activity.

From October 1, foreign investors were required to provide a New Zealand IRD number, with a New Zealand bank account, and, like New Zealand investors, will have to pay capital gains tax on any investment property bought and sold within two years.

John Bolton, head of Auckland's biggest mortgage broking chain Squirrel, said the absence of Chinese buyers in the Auckland market was obvious.

"It's easier for people to buy because there is less competition from Chinese buyers."

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The number of properties selling at auction had dropped.

Jenny Campbell, chief executive of Mortgage Supply Co, agreed that Chinese buyers had "disappeared".

Broker Connie Wang said the rule change had scared a lot of overseas buyers off.

"I was busy last month with settlements but not many new inquiries. People are conscious of the changes."

In Birkenhead, real estate agents said properties priced over $1 million had previously been selling "lightning fast" but now because there were fewer foreigners snapping them up, prices had come off the boil.

Peter Thompson, of real estate agency Barfoot and Thompson, said Chinese buyer numbers had dropped before the new rules came in, as China tightened up on its residents investing money overseas.

"It's too early to tell what's happening is a result of the new rules. But at the moment we are noticing sales have dropped off."

Bolton's colleague, Jo Chen, said investors were biding their time before re-entering the market.

"They're thinking 'I now need ID, what does that mean for me?' and they stop there. But the money is still there and they are still going to buy. They are just going to wait a couple of months."

She said China's property market was stagnant, driving buyers overseas. It would not be hard for them to get an IRD number.

"It's not hard, they just don't know. So if they don't know, they want to wait. Will they wait a couple of years? No. A couple of months? Yes."

The Real Estate Institute will release statistics next week which will indicate whether the buyers' absence has had an impact on turnover or prices.