Cashed up foreigners snap up Australian property

Foreigners snapped up $14.9 billion worth of houses and land in Australia last year, including $2.49 billion worth of existing homes.

According to a Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) report, the Government issued 4827 real-estate approvals to foreign investors last year for commercial and residential properties. About half the approvals were for temporary residents buying a house as their principal residence. A further 988 approvals were granted to foreign investors to buy vacant land for residential subdivision or to build a houses.

The report showed Victoria as the most sought-after state by foreign investors wanting to buy residential real estate, followed by Queensland and NSW.

However, the figures are incomplete, because the Government changed the rules in April 2009, so foreigners no longer had to notify the FIRB if the property was to be their principal place of residence.

Under foreign investment laws, non-Australian residents can buy a dwelling for their principal place of residence.

The Government has been criticised for relaxing foreign investment laws and blamed for driving up house prices. And although the Government announced last month that it would adopt a more stringent approval process, experts claim the latest changes will have little effect on the market.

In 2007-08, the biggest buyers of residential and commercial real estate in Australia was made by investors from the USA, UK and the United Arab Emirates.

The following year, Singapore investors topped the list, followed by the USA and UK.

If you are interested in buying property in Australia, speak to one of the property specialists at Intellichoice on +61 7 3624 1900 or email info@intellichoice.com.au. Intellichoice has access to a wide range of property developments in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and more.