According to Business Spectator (31 January 2014), what rich Chinese homebuyers essentially want is the land which their newly-purchased property sits on, so much so that they are willing to fork out AU$100,000 to AU$200,000 above the sale price in order to outbid Australian buyers for the property of their choice in their preferred location. Andrew Taylor, co-founder of Juwai.com, explains that while most assume that Chinese buyers only buy newly-built properties, it is actually existing properties or re-sales that attract most Chinese buyers more – Juwai data shows that the majority of the enquiries in Australia are for established homes ranging from AU$600,000 to AU$1.1 million, which is also the targetted price range for most Australians. Many Chinese buyers are willing to pay exorbitant prices to secure the land, then knock down old houses to rebuild brand-new mansions on it. According to Taylor, the Chinese obsession for real estate is driven by the fact that private ownership in China was forbidden until 15 years ago. He says, "They are going through their first property cycle. Property is like gold to them."
