Australia’s property market is experiencing a surge in foreign interest
- Posted By Ndl 1 Realty
Australia’s number one property website is seeing a spike in activity from international buyers.
With borders reopening and COVID restrictions easing, PropTrack Overseas Search Report suggests a looming influx of arrivals.
Overseas searches on realestate.com.au jumped sharply in June compared to May, primarily for rental properties.
“Searches for rental properties increased by an astounding 71% month-on-month, compared to only 7% on the buy section of the site,” said report author Karen Dellow, a senior audience analyst with REA Group.
“This indicates that longer-term visitors are eyeing a move to our shores, most likely migrant workers and students.
Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that 650,520 people entered the country in May after crossing the international border.
This represented an increase of 76,590 trips per month.
International students are heading to Australia in record numbers, with 24, 750 arriving for education in May. It’s an increase from just several hundred in the same month last year because of COVID and border closures. It should be noted, however, that the number of student arrivals in May 2019 was 27.8% lower than pre-COVID levels.
There was an increase in rental searches in all countries except the United States, according to Dellow.
An incredible 431% increase was found among Chinese-based renters, and a 196% increase was seen among Indian-based renters.
In terms of buyers, China, India, and Hong Kong are showing the most interest. Property seekers are turning to the sunny Gold Coast for their next home, while Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth are also popular.
For Chinese property buyers, Balwyn in Victoria was the most popular suburb, whereas, for Indian buyers, it was Melbourne’s CBD. Greater Brisbane was the most popular area for Kiwis and Brits looking for a home.
According to the first batch of data from the 2021 Census, Indians and Chinese dominate the overseas-born population after the English.
“The total number of people born overseas has increased by 25% in the past decade, whereas those born in Australia have only increased by half that, or 12%,” Ms Dellow said.
“And although the Australian-born population is much higher, it does show that our country continues to attract people from overseas, despite the COVID-19 pandemic slowing down migration over the past few years.