The Australian property market is being swamped with enquiries from overseas buyers including many purchasers from the UK, according to the Real Estate Buyers Association of Australia.
According to data compiled by the Real Estate Buyers Association of Australia, foreigners purchased £14.5 billion worth of properties in Australia during the peak of the global financial crisis in 2009.
In total last year, overseas nationals bought 3,639 new and existing homes in Australia, along with 988 parcels of land.
Byron Rose, president of the Real Estate Buyers Association of Australia, commented: “We see a lot of interest from Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and the UK. They know the market is depressed and as they are making huge capital gains many are reinvesting into the market.”
Because interest rates have risen in recent month, the cost of taking out a mortgage to buy property in Australia has increased considerably for many local buyers, and as a consequence many Australian property firms are now targeting more overseas buyers.
Consultancy firm CB Richard Ellis recently held a major Australia property exhibition in Hong Kong in an attempt to woo more foreign buyers.