A recent Crédit Suisse report revealed that Chinese buyer insatiable appetite for Australian property will play a vital role in cushioning the impact of a looming housing downturn in Australia, reports Your Investment Property Mag (27 March 2017). The report found that foreign buyers purchased an equivalent of 25 percent of new supply in New South Wales and 16 percent in Victoria, and investors from China account for nearly 80% of all international demand in Australia. “The report should put to rest any concern about foreign buying in Australia. It shows robust and growing purchasing despite local taxes and lending restrictions and Chinese capital controls,” said Charles Pittar, CEO of Juwai.com, a Chinese-language international property portal. Nevertheless, he also cautioned on taking the report’s findings at face value. “The report may overstate the amount of Chinese buying by combining into the 2016 data transactions that actually took place in earlier years as the construction boom got under way, but only settled last year when the projects were completed and transferred to their new owners,” said Pittar.
