Property portal, Juwai IQI, recently ranked Australian property as the world’s most popular destination for Chinese buyers.
The increasing interest in Australian property has been driven, in part, by the Chinese government’s directive that foreign-enrolled students return to universities for face-to-face learning.
Juwai projected that third-quarter inquiries from Chinese buyers pertaining to Australian property would be 76% higher than in the second quarter, and 35% higher than the first quarter.
“The first wave of buyers this year consisted of students who urgently needed to move to Australia to complete their studies in person”, the firm recently told the SCMP.
“Students have also been joined by Chinese families who lived in China during the three years”.
Juwai IQI spokesman, David Platter, told The AFR this month that the firm has “been working with a lot of Chinese ever since the borders opened. Presumably as flights continue to increase we will see buying increase”.
“These people are upper-middle-class and wealthy from a Chinese standpoint. They are buying townhouses, houses and large apartments at $1.5 million, $2 million, $2.5 million and up”, he said.
With this background in mind, it is no surprise to see the latest NAB Residential Property Survey reporting a significant lift in the share of property sales to foreign buyers.
According to industry participants surveyed by NAB, foreign buyers’ “share of total market sales in new housing markets increased for the fourth consecutive quarter to a 5½-year high 10.1%”.
“In addition, the overall share of sales to foreign buyers in new housing markets in Q3 climbed above the survey average (9.1%) for the first time since mid-2018”.
“The increase in overall market share of foreign buyers in Q3 was supported by higher activity levels in NSW, where it increased to 14.9% (9.2% in Q2) and in VIC where it also lifted to 11.3% (7.4% in Q2)”:
“In established housing markets, the share of foreign buyers increased to 4.1% in Q3 (3.1% in Q2)… its highest level since mid-2019”.
“Foreign buyer activity increased in all states in Q3. It was highest in VIC at 5.0% (4.0% in Q2)”:
With net overseas migration running at record levels, it is highly likely that the share of foreign buyers will continue to rise, driven by China.
The Albanese government should (but won’t) reverse the former Rudd Government’s silly decision in 2009 allowing temporary migrants to buy established Australian homes.
The Albanese government should also implement the global “Tranche 2” anti-money laundering rules for real estate gatekeepers, which was promised by Australia 17 years ago.
Australian housing must not be used as a wealth store for foreign nationals, organised criminals and money launderers.
