Australian property market’s most searched for locations from overseas property seekers

• Overseas migrants' interest in Australian real estate back to pre-pandemic levels.
• NZ and China were the largest portion of interested overseas property seekers.
• Melbourne was the most searched for location in the past six months.

Although Australia’s property market is in the midst of multiple crisis, overseas property seekers are showing their interest, according to PropTrack.

PropTrack’s Overseas Search Report – October 2023 found that buy searches are up 11.5% in the past three months and rent searches are up 7.8%.

Buy and rent searches are now well above pre-pandemic levels and are on track to continue rising now that migration has returned to previous levels, according to PropTrack senior data analyst, Karen Dellow.

Overseas searches for properties on realestate.com.au

In September, The Property Tribune reported that Australia ranked in the top 10 most valuable property markets across the globe.

Renewed interest from China

In the year leading up to September 2020, interest from China severely diminished, falling by 53%.

However, in March 2023, searches for properties to purchase skyrocketed, and returned to pre-pandemic levels. This has also held true for rental searches from China, nearly doubling the volumes seen before the pandemic.

This increase is largely driven by the return of students and migrant workers, according to the report.

In July 2023, arrivals from migrant workers and students hit the highest level since January 2020, averaging around 265,000 new arrivals per month over the last six months.

Furthermore, a quarter of buy and rent searches from overseas come from New Zealand, and their interest has been increasing monthly.

Annual change in buy and rent search volumes from overseas property seekers – September 2023

“Rental searches in particular are a leading indicator of overseas migration and have mirrored the trend of permanent and student arrivals to Australia, illustrating new arrivals’ relationship with the rental market,” said Dellow.

Overseas property seekers are eyeing Melbourne

For the past six months, Melbourne has ranked as the number one searched location on realestate.com.au

“Which is hardly surprising considering it is the first port of arrival for many migrants and is also a major centre of commerce and study,” said Dellow.

The Gold Coast has also attracted a high level of demand from overseas buyers; even among interstate migrants, the Gold Coast emerged as a clear favourite.

Top 20 locations for overseas property seekers

Source: realestate.com.au,PropTrack