2025 Guangzhou International Education and Study Abroad Exhibition

Date:21th-22th June, 2025           Venue:Guangzhou Poly World Trade Expo

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More affordable than the US and UK? Why Australia has become a hot spot for overseas real estate
data:2024-04-15 12:49:19 | viewed:


Editor's note: In the new wave of global asset allocation, more and more Chinese investors are targeting the overseas asset investment market, becoming important international buyers in the real estate markets of countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom, and Japan. However, overseas real estate has basic thresholds and complex requirements, and "information asymmetry" is the biggest pain point for overseas real estate. From Southeast Asia to the UK, the US, Canada, and Australia, what attracts Chinese buyers to go abroad, and what is the purchasing power of Chinese buyers? First Financial will gradually release a series of articles on overseas home purchases, attempting to clarify the "tricks" in overseas real estate.

Australia has become a popular destination for Chinese buyers to purchase overseas properties.

The latest report from Juwai IQI, a global real estate technology group, shows that based on the platform's buyer inquiries, Australia became the preferred destination for Chinese overseas buyers in the first half of this year. Ranked 2-4 are Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Singapore also made it to the top 10.

In an interview with First Financial News, Daniel Ho, the Managing Director of the group, stated that previous years of data from the Overseas Chinese Investment Index (IQI) show that "Australia has always been one of the most favored overseas real estate, immigration, and study destinations for Chinese and Southeast Asian Chinese, closely following Thailand and the United States in rankings. In 2022, Australia became the number one for the first time, which may be related to the release of the backlog of study abroad and immigration demand during the pandemic."

According to data released by real estate consulting firm CoreLogic on August 1st, Australian housing prices rose for the fifth consecutive month in July, with a month on month increase of 0.7%. Although the 1.1% increase from last month has slowed down, housing prices in Australia have risen by 4.1% since hitting bottom in February this year. However, it is still 9.1% lower than the highest point in April last year.

Who bought a house in Australia

Peter Li, General Manager of Plus Agency, one of the top 50 real estate agencies in Australia, told First Financial reporters that there are two most common situations for overseas investors who purchase for their own use. The first group is families with children studying in Australia, and the second group is people who immigrate to Australia on a transitional visa.

Daniel Ho observed that in the first half of this year, the year-on-year growth rate of Chinese students studying in Australia exceeded that of the UK and the US. According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), from July 2022 to March 2023, over 71600 Chinese students obtained Australian student visas.

Jamie Mi, International Business Director of Kay&Burton, a Melbourne brokerage firm, also told First Financial reporters that since the beginning of this year, the number of inquiries from Chinese clients has increased by nearly 40% compared to last year, and the number of people visiting the property in person has increased by at least 50% compared to last year. "Many customers had already visited the house three years ago and will make a decision when they come back to see it again. If they apply for permanent residency during the pandemic, the number of people approved this year has also increased. In this case, buying a house does not require paying foreign stamp duty, and their motivation to buy a house will also increase," she said.

But in addition, Daniel Ho also revealed, "We have found that many Chinese companies' overseas investments are shifting from the United States to Australia and Southeast Asia. These Chinese companies need to find industrial land and also find housing for their employees. From Shandong to Guangdong, there are more and more Chinese companies with such demand."

More affordable compared to the US and UK

Compared to the United States and the United Kingdom, Daniel Ho stated, "For individual buyers, property prices in Australia are relatively affordable. In addition, Australia has introduced policies that allow foreign students to stay for 3 to 5 years after graduation, making Australia the most friendly destination for English language students."

According to US policy, international students can stay in the US for 12 to 36 months based on their major after graduation. British international students can stay for two years after graduation. In contrast, Australia's policies are more generous.

According to a survey by the National Bank of Australia (NAB) on residential properties in the second quarter, foreign buyers' market share in the new property market rose to a nearly two-year high of 7.9% in the first quarter of this year, and fell back to 5.9% in the second quarter. In this survey, Australian real estate professionals believe that the proportion of new home buyers among foreign homebuyers in the new home market will continue to rise in the next 12 months.

Peter Li said, "For overseas homebuyers, they are shifting from investment oriented one bedroom apartments in cities to larger units in suburban or regional areas."

Will housing prices continue to rise

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has raised interest rates by 400 basis points since May last year to curb inflation, but due to supply shortages and a surge in immigration, housing prices hit bottom earlier than expected.

However, the data released by Australian real estate agency PropTrack on August 1st was more optimistic, with national housing prices in Australia returning to annual positive growth in July, a decrease of only 1.4% compared to last year's peak.

Tim Lawless, head of research at CoreLogic, said that sellers are becoming more active during typically seasonal downturns. In July, the new listings of major cities in Australia increased by 3.9% compared to the previous month. Sydney's listing volume has surged by 9.9% compared to a year ago, 18% higher than the average level of the previous five years.

"If we see a further increase in listing volume, it may further weaken the market's heat unless a significant increase in active buyers can offset this impact," said Lauris

However, Lawless said that so far, demand seems to have kept up with the increase in new listings. More homeowners may choose current market conditions as a good opportunity to sell, rather than waiting longer.
 
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