Interpac Business and Migration Solutions Melbourne Australia

(Mar 29 2010)

ASIAN buyers are putting a fire under the country's housing markets, with capital-city sales doubling in the past 12 months. Chinese government restrictions phased in from last year to dampen domestic real estate speculation had sent a wall of capital offshore, said Brian White, chairman of Ray White, The Australian reported.

At the top end of the Sydney market, a Chinese buyer was one of three parties vying for a $30 million home, Mr White said. The others are an American and an Australian. Local Asian buyers had had a huge impact on the first-home buyer market last year, but that had flowed though into the upgrade and prestige markets, Mr White said."It is a new market force and one which we had underestimated the strength of."

Sydney prestige homes, particularly over $4m, had increased in price by 10 per cent, with offshore buyers helping to fuel the growth. As well as Sydney, much of the Asian buying activity was in Melbourne, Mr White said. The growing trend of offshore parents buying apartments, many worth more than $2m, for their children to live in while studying here was also fuelling capital-city residential markets.

Ewan Morton, managing director of Sydney-based Morton and Morton, said 16 per cent of the real estate agency's sales last year were to Chinese buyers, with $21m in property changing hands. This compared with 5 per cent in 2008. The trend had continued this year and buyers were interested in listings between $6m and $8m. "I don't see it abating," he said."The mainland Chinese are looking for purpose-built new apartments with water views . . . their kids are here studying."

Colliers International's NSW director of project marketing, Murray Wood, said that at the Stamford Residences, a 30-level tower at The Rocks in Sydney, one buyer recently bought an apartment for $2m for their child to live in while studying here. About six of 122 apartments had sold to mainland Chinese residents.

Agents say the student market has also boomed in Melbourne.

(Source from:news.com.au)