One of the most significant forces in the
international real estate arena are the Chinese and one region in particular attracts
a great deal of interest this is Australia.
The value of Australian residential
property purchased by Chinese-based buyers reached $5.4 billion in the 2013
financial year, according to figures from Chinese property portal Juwai.com.
This is around a 25% increase on US$4
billion ($4 billion to $4.2 billion in local currency) of Australian property
purchased by Chinese buyers in 2011.
“Chinese make up the fastest growing
buyer group in an otherwise relatively slow Australian real estate market,ââ¬Â
says Simon Henry, co-CEO of Juwai.com.
“The properties that will have the
most success with Chinese buyers are located in major metropolitan areas or in
growing mining areas, are working farms or are new developments.
“Resale properties appeal to Chinese
buyers who know Australia already, including those who already have one or more
properties here.”
Dominic Ong who heads up a new Knight Frank
team targeting high-net worth Chinese investors and those who may qualify
for the $5 million significant investor visa, recently told Property Observer
that he was regularly showing Asian-based buyers around some of the most
expensive waterfront property in Sydney.
Ong says they are looking in the $30
million to $50 million price range.
According to the Foreign Ownership of Land
Register, Chinese buyers are now the biggest foreign property buying group
in the state of Queensland
.
A report, “Top Destinations for
Chinese Buyers” by the No. 1 released by Juwai.com, indicates the scale of
Chinese investment around the world.
It says Chinese buyers spent $US50 billion
on overseas real estate last year.
The top five countries ranked by activity are
the US, Australia, Britain, Singapore and Canada.
The report names 118 destinations in 36
countries where Chinese are searching for property online.
During the past six months, Melbourne had
the most hits, Sydney was second, the Gold Coast third, Brisbane fourth and
Perth five.
