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The government has approved more than $170 billion worth of foreign investment in Australia in 2011-12, according to the annual report released by the Foreign Investment Review Board.
Property market news site Domain says the real estate sector has replaced mining as the magnet for foreign money for the first time in recent history.
“Treasury gave a tick to $59.1 billion worth of overseas investment into the property sector, with more than two-thirds of that going into commercial property.”
Asian investors and offshore pension funds have led the influx.
However, interest in the residential sector decreased slightly from $20.9 billion in 2010-11 to $19.7 billion in 2011-12. NSW is the favourite investment destination for overseas real estate investors, followed by Victoria and Queensland.
“Though interest in the mining industry declined from previous years, it still managed to attract $51.7 billion worth of investment. The oil and gas sector attracted the most investment, followed by gold/copper and iron ore.”
