Buyer inquiries from China for Australian properties soared 127% in the first three months of the year from the final quarter of 2022, according to data from real estate firm Juwai IQI. Real estate agents who work with Chinese buyers predict numbers will surge this year.
While big spending buyers are targeting three and four-bedroom homes in Sydney, smaller student accommodation apartments around Australia are also popular Chinese investments. “Chinese buyers are looking overseas for higher returns than they can obtain in their domestic housing or stock markets,” Mr Ho said.
UK, US property buyers dominate Australia's housing market ahead of China | news.com.au — Australia's leading news site.
Foreign buyers can apply to purchase new properties, and can apply to buy an existing property if they will redevelop it and add to the housing stock, or if they are a temporary resident who will live there while in Australia. Permanent residents are free to purchase property.
Chinese investment in Australia's property market is expected to reach $4.8billion in 2023, double the 2022 figure, according to Asian real estate technology group Juwai IQI. This will mean more competition for local investors, but the increased pool of buyers may help to shore up falling property prices.
In play now in China, where around 70% of household wealth is in property, this phenomenon is weighing on the post-pandemic recovery of household consumption, which Chinese policymakers have vowed to make a more prominent driver of economic growth.
House prices are expected to soften further in 2023 but falls may not be as severe as some expect if the RBA stops increasing rates before the cash rate reaches 4%.
Chinese investors are among the top foreign purchasers of residential real estate, along with Canadians, according to the National Association of Realtors. Other states have had concerns over foreign ownership of land and have made efforts to regulate it.
Typically you need to be a permanent resident or citizen to buy property in Australia and many of the available home loans also require you to be Aussie. But don't fret, foreigners can still buy: the property needs to be categorised as an investment and you need to get government approval.
Australia's property market is considered to be among the most expensive in the world, with Sydney and Melbourne regularly featuring among the list of least affordable housing markets, along with some US and Canadian cities. One measure of affordability is the household debt-to-income ratio.
The potential tax benefits and wealth generation make real estate an attractive investment option for many Australians, but it is not without any drawbacks. If done right, investing in property can be an effective way to build wealth and secure your financial future.
Home ownership data from the 2021 Census show a home ownership rate of 67%, down from 70% in 2006. While the home ownership rate remained around 67–70% from the early 1970's, the rate for different age groups has varied markedly over this time.
As with many overseas Chinese groups the world over, early Chinese immigrants to Australia established several Chinatowns in major cities, such as Sydney (Chinatown, Sydney), Melbourne (Chinatown, Melbourne), Brisbane (Chinatown, Brisbane) and Perth (Chinatown, Perth).
Trade and investment
China is Australia's largest two-way trading partner in goods and services, accounting for nearly one third (32.2 per cent) of our trade with the world.
By the early 1850s, news of a gold rush in Australia had reached southern China, sparking an influx in Chinese migration to Australia. It is thought that approximately 7000 Chinese people came to work at the Araluen gold fields in southern NSW.
Chinese entities owned 0.94 percent of the total number of acres owned by foreigners in 2021 and 0.03 percent of total privately owned agricultural land in the United States.
25% of foreign investment in U.S. residential real estate was made by Chinese. In 2018, Chinese accounted for roughly 25% of foreign investment in the U.S. Residential real estate. In fact, Chinese investors have been the biggest buyers of U.S. residential properties for six consecutive years.
Foreign investors are not allowed to buy land in China. The land in China belongs to the state and the collectives.
The 2022 Land Report 100, compiled each year by The Land Report magazine, released its annual list of landowners who own the most acres in the United States. The nation's largest private landowners are the Emmerson family in California who own over 2.4 million acres.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have occupied the lands and waters of Australia for millennia. Since the beginning of colonisation, Australia's First peoples have defended their lands and waters and asserted their rights to their homelands.
Average House Prices in Australia averaged 657.65 AUD Thousand from 2011 until 2023, reaching an all time high of 930.60 AUD Thousand in the first quarter of 2022 and a record low of 486.30 AUD Thousand in the third quarter of 2012. This page includes a chart with historical data for Australia Mean Dwelling Price.
High house prices in Australia are primarily driven by supply and demand imbalances, tax policies, low-interest rates, and rising household debt.
Nationwide prices are expected to rise by approximately 2 per cent by the end of 2023. However, as the RBA potentially cuts interest rates before the end of 2023, demand pressures will contribute to a favourable environment for property prices.