There is a lot of talk about foreign investors buying into the Australian property market at the moment. The million-dollar questions remain… what are they looking for and where are they buying? To help answer these questions, we use research and statistics from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) to reveal the ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘why’, ‘where’ and ‘when’ of Australia’s international property buyers.

WHO

Who are Australia’s leading foreign buyers? Where are they coming from?

In dollar terms, our country’s top 11 investor markets currently look like this:

1.     China $12,406m

2.     USA $6,135m

3.     Singapore $4,303m

4.     Canada $2,945m

5.     Malaysia $2,038m

6.     UK $1,795m

7.     Netherlands $1,720m

8.     NZ $1,362m

9.     Hong Kong $1,279m

10.   Germany $1,169m

11.   South Korea $1,083m

WHAT

What type of property are these investors buying?

According to the FIRB Report, Australia made $74.6 billion from foreign investment in 2013-2014. This figure is up from $51.9 billion in 2012-2013 and included:

1. a)     $34.72 billion in residential real estate based on 23,054 proposals.
2. b)     $39.88 billion in commercial real estate based on 374 proposals.

It can be established from these statistics that Australia’s residential real estate is showing huge growth from the previous 2012 to 2013 year which saw $17.16 billion made up of 11,668 proposals. Thus, indicating the residential market is up by more than 100 per cent in the previous year alone.

WHY

Why Australia?

Locally we continuously hear in the media, and from industry experts, about how Australian property is starting to get expensive. However, when you speak to international buyers the response to our market is quite the opposite, with many commenting on how our property prices are actually very reasonable.

Just ask Greville Pabst, WBP Property Group CEO and Co-founder, he says that overseas investors find Australia a very desirable location. This is especially the case when looking at it from an education and infrastructure perspective.

“Locals are saying Australian property is getting expensive yet when I speak to buyers from Singapore, Hong Kong, Jakarta, our property is actually viewed as very cheap – a lot of our buyers work for multinationals and are paid in US dollars”, says Pabst.

WHERE

Where are international investors buying?

According to reports it seems that international buyers are buying high-rise apartments in the main capitals, located near quality educational centres – colleges, schools, universities, etc. 

According to Pabst, Asian markets are predominantly buying apartments in the main capitals of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. He explains that foreign-born residents of all nationalities also see high value in established properties near high-quality tertiary and secondary college campuses.

In addition, independent buyer’s agent Catherine Cashmore says that foreign investors are primarily buying high-rise apartments.

What does this mean for the Brisbane CBD?

Home to some of Queensland’s most respected universities, such as the Queensland University of Technology, plus a number of reputable colleges and education facilities, it is no wonder why so many foreign buyers are looking favourably at buying apartments in the Brisbane CBD.

Just this week we have seen articles explode all over the media with the main online Chinese real estate portal Juwai.com touting Queensland and in particularly  Brisbane as the new hot spot for Chinese investors.

You can read more about this in the News.com.au article released this week.

WHEN

Now is an opportune time to buy in the Brisbane CBD. Whether looking to buy or sell, for more information on local Brisbane properties, contact Hannah on 0419 782 133.