Uncertainty about immigration and housing policies after the September election has made Chinese property buyers wary.

Chinese property buyers are taking a cautious approach as they face an uncertain New Zealand housing market ahead of September's general election.

Nearly half of those who were considering a property purchase in New Zealand said they were now waiting to see what happened in the next 12 months.

Opinions were divided on how the election would impact the housing market, but 45 per cent thought there would be changes depending on which parties formed the next government.

SUPPLIED Almost half of the property buyers Hougarden surveyed said they were taking a wait-and-see approach.

The figures were provided from a survey conducted last week by Hougarden.com - New Zealand's largest online property portal targeting the Chinese-speaking market.

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SUPPLIED How Hougarden's poll respondents predict the NZ housing market will develop.

More than 600 Chinese-speaking buyers took part in the survey. It was not clear exactly where respondents were based, but 54 per cent of Hougarden users are from New Zealand.

A further 39 per cent are from China (including Hong Kong), while the remaining seven per cent are based in other countries.

Hougarden managing director Sam Yin said various political parties took different stances on immigration and housing, so it made sense for potential investors to hold off and see who ended up in power.

SUPPLIED Types of property buyers represented in the Hougarden.com poll.

"The housing market is slowing down before the election, and a lack of confidence will also prevent some buyers from buying properties," he said.

Soaring house prices were also identified as a concern by 28 per cent of Chinese-speaking buyers, while a further 22 per cent reported difficulties in transferring funds out of China.

Chinese property investors have become a flashpoint in Auckland amid fears that foreign buyers are driving up prices and making it harder for locals to enter the market.

Labour's housing spokesman Phil Twyford sparked controversy in 2015 when he released data which he said showed buyers of Chinese descent accounted for 39.5 per cent of sales in Auckland during a three-month period.

About nine per cent of Auckland's population is of Chinese ethnicity.

Twyford said at the time that it was not credible to suggest nine per cent of the population "went on a house-buying bender over a three-month period" - implying it was Chinese people living overseas pouring money into New Zealand property.

He claimed Auckland's property market was "absolutely out of control" due to rampant speculation from foreign investors.

"If people can't see that then they're not willing to address the problem," he said in 2015.

The data was based on more than 4000 house sales between February and April and was leaked from one of Auckland's leading real estate agencies.

Labour faced a backlash for what critics said was a "half-baked" approach, drawing conclusions about the apparent ethnicity of buyers based on their surnames.

Housing minister Nick Smith rejected the data at the time, and said Labour was playing the "oldest political trick in the book" by picking on one ethnic group.

Amongst the Hougarden respondents, a quarter said they were buying to live in the home, but 44 per cent identified themselves as property investors.