Send to a friend

News

Foreign Property Investors Jump on Australia’s Strong Economy - 3 February 2010

Overseas investors are expected to spend about A$2 billion on Australian commercial property in 2010, a 25 percent increase from last year, according to recent reports.

In 2009, foreigners spent A$1.6 billion on Aussie property, making up a third of all commercial buyers in the country. Nearly two-thirds of this money (A$1.1 billion) was spent in the last half of the year, double the amount (A$550 million) spent during the same period the previous year.

The projected increase in interest by overseas buyers is attributed to Australia’s near resilience to the global recession. Unlike the rest of the Western world, Australia ended the decade with strong job and real estate markets, especially in its big cities and surrounding suburbs.

Residential property prices also saw a sharp rise in 2009: 12.1 percent overall, and 5 percent in the last quarter alone. Researchers say that first-time buyers flooded the market for the first half of the year, while upgraders and overseas investors sustained the second half.

Median prices for homes in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth also surpassed pre-global recession highs by the end of 2009. In Melbourne, property prices increased over 18 percent; in Sydney, prices rose about 12 percent.

This year, forecasters are predicting housing prices in Brisbane and Perth to rise rapidly to catch up with their big capital counterparts. By 2012, the average price for a residential property in nearly all capital cities is projected to increase by 11 to 19 percent.

Post this article to:

del.icio.us Digg Newsvine Reddit MyYahoo! Facebook

Related Articles

• Buying a Property in Australia