Foreigners are to be banned from buying homes in New Zealand after a spate of millionaires seeking luxury doomsday boltholes has apparently crowded out local buyers and pushed up property prices.

Following purchases by rich expats, including tech billionaire Peter Thiel - PayPal founder and early Facebook investor - and disgraced former NBC host Matt Lauer, who lost his job after allegations of sexual misconduct - the New Zealand government is preparing to crack down on the trend.

New Zealand's allure for the mega-rich planning a safe space to ride out the apocalypse has become almost a cliche in recent years. LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman told The New Yorker last year: "Saying you're buying a house in New Zealand is kind of a wink, wink, say no more."

But the country's centre-left government, led by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, is blaming the apocalypse preppers for a major housing crisis in the country, with rates of homelessness among the highest in the developed world.

Ms Ardern’s Labour party is adamant that a law change banning foreigners from buying most types of homes in the country - due to pass in parliament next week - will help damp down property prices, along with their plans to build 100,000 affordable housing units in a decade, resolve New Zealand’s zoning and infrastructure woes, and bolster its ailing construction industry.