A Chinese Governmentâs state owned fund, now owns 9 office towers in Sydney and Melbourne, setting them back $2.45 billion. The expected annual rental income for this purchase is $145 million. NSW saw the biggest rate of Chinese investment totalling 72%. But the Chinese investors are not limiting themselves to the CBD or buying on the fringe of the CBD- theyâre looking into regional areas also.
Between Jan and March 2015, spent $3 billion alone- or one third of the total $9 billion spent by foreign investors. So why now? Two reasons: the fall in the Aussie dollar and the proposed Free Trade Agreement.
The fall in the Aussie dollar is encouraging Chinese students to return to our universityâs to undertake study- Australiaâs fourth biggest export to China- estimated worth of $14 billion a year in exports. Annually 50,000 student visas are granted, seeing Sydney housing the majority of Chinese students.
The free trade agreement, to come into effect later in 2015, will increase the amount required for screening from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) for commercial property- from the current AUD$55 million to AUD$1.094 billion. From December 2015, all commercial property acquired by any foreign national, will see AUD$25,000 fee applied to the purchase.
As for the overall real estate market, China, Singapore and New Zealand have doubled their real estate investments in Australia, according to the FIRB Annual Report. For the financial year 2014/15 Chinese buyers have increased their presence in the Australian commercial market by $12,406m- an increase from the 2013/14 financial year of $5,932m spend. Australia isnât the only country experiencing increasing purchase from Chinese buyers, globally it is estimated they spent US$16.9 billion on commercial real estate in 2014 calendar year.
Are you looking to buy property in Australia ? Melbourne , Reedy Creek , Western Australia , Perth , Parramatta
Are you looking to rent property in Australia ? Surfers Paradise , Byron Bay , Margaret River , Cowes , Dunsborough
Author
Sarah Rollings