The appetite of Australian based Chinese buyers looking to break into the real estate market looks to be changing, with new figures suggesting their focus is shifting off the type of property they have traditionally targeted.
According to figures from Juwai, an online real estate platform that markets Australian real estate to Chinese buyers, the end of 2015 saw a marked increase in interest in residential properties that come with land.
“We saw a 23.5% increase in the past year in the share of inquiries made for Australian property that specify a desire for a home with land. This is the based on the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to a year earlier,” chief executive officer of Juwai
Charles Pittar said.
“Chinese buyers most often buy apartments in inner city areas. They know urban living best, those who live offshore are required by Australian law to purchase only new homes and the entry price is more affordable,” Pittar said.
According to Pittar, Chinese buyers in Australia, and those of Chinese decent, are becoming more likely to chase what has traditionally been known as the “Australian Dream.”
“Chinese buyers are starting to wake up to the ‘Australian Dream’ of owning their own house with land. To be clear, we’re talking here about buyers who live or are moving to Australia, many of them Australian citizens, who just happen to be of Chinese descent.
This is not a trend among offshore investor buyers,” he said.
“These buyers are Australian citizens or permanent residents, and they want the same things as other Aussies. They want their kids to have a place to play, perhaps a place to garden.”
