Juwai.com Report on Chinese Buyer Activity
SHANGHAI, CHINA April 14, 2015 — Chinese real estate buyers stepped up their activity in Australia in 2015, making 87.1 per cent more purchasing inquiries to property sellers like real estate agents and developers than the year before, according to new data released by Juwai.com today.
The Juwai.com data shows that Chinese buyers are active across the entire range of prices, but that more than half of Chinese buyers are seeking property in the $200,000 to $500,000 range.
“This is great news for first-time buyers in Australia,” says Juwai.com CEO Charlies Pittar. “When offshore investors purchase off the plan, they give developers the security they need to start construction on the new buildings that will provide homes for Australians. The Property Council of Australia tells us that every Chinese buyer makes four homes available for local buyers.”
When it comes to answering the question of why Chinese buyers purchase in Australia, most buyers reported more than one motivation. Pittar said, “You might expect capital gains, but also let your son or daughter live there while studying or working in Australia. On top of that, your relatives stay when they are visiting from China and –one day–you also turn it into your retirement home.”
Brisbane & Gold Coast
Queensland is the only state to have two cities in the top five most popular cities for Chinese buyers, with Brisbane in third and the Gold Coast in fifth. Even so, New South Wales and Victoria still attract significantly more buyers in absolute numbers.
RE/MAX Community Realty Principal Cathy Cheng said, “Our market, which is on Brisbane’s south-side, has a very well-established Chinese community so homes here are very highly sought after by Chinese families, especially those looking for good educational facilities and to be nearby family members.
“Asian buyers account for more than 90 per cent of our customers and the majority know exactly where they want to buy having done their homework through a combination of word-of-mouth and the internet,” she said.
Robin Yu, Principal of RE/MAX Masters in Brisbane said “Chinese buyers are not only looking to Australia but to other countries, like the US and the UK, where they can purchase freehold property, but Australia, in particular, has presented value for money and better opportunities for the children, which is very important to Chinese families.
“In 2015 we really began to see Chinese buyers look seriously at Brisbane and the Gold Coast more than in the past.
“Brisbane has consistently been a popular investment choice through the lifestyle it offers, the weather, good infrastructure and the fact it is less populated than other capitals, but the buyers also identified the better value in Brisbane property last year and continue to realise they can buy a better quality Brisbane property for the same outlay in Melbourne or Sydney, for instance,” Mr Yu said.
About Juwai.com
Juwai.com is the No. 1 Chinese international property portal, with 2.6 million visitors from 403 cities in China and 165 countries. Juwai.com showcases 2.5 million listings from 89 countries. The company is headquartered in Shanghai, with an additional office in Hong Kong. On Baidu, China’s dominant search engine, Juwai.com ranks higher than Zillow, Realtor.com and Trulia. For info or to advertise: http://list.juwai.com