- The FIRB has issued a quarterly report for the first time
- Mainland China and Hong Kong make for five times more money approved for real estate investing
- Vietnam is the next country
The Foreign investment Review Board (FIRB) has issued a quarterly report for the first time.
The data from the FIRB, the official body that manages foreign investment in Australia, found that Mainland China and Hong Kong combined account for five times more money approved for investment in Australian houses and apartments as the next country.
This next country, surprisingly, is Vietnam.
“When you calculate it by the number of investments made instead of value, Mainland China and Hong Kong account for more than seven times the number of approved residential real estate investments as the next-ranked country,” commented Daniel Ho, Juwai IQI Co-Founder and Group Managing Director.
“No one buys more Aussie residential real estate than buyers from China. If you thought Chinese buyers had disappeared, the numbers show you’re mistaken.
Daniel Ho, Juwai
“The USA is by far the largest foreign investor in Australia’s economy, but it is not even in the top 10 regarding residential real estate.
Mr Ho noted that data from Juwai and their international network of over 30,000 agents has found that the top cities for Chinse buyers during the quarter were Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and the Gold Coast followed by Canberra and Adelaide.
This is also the first time the FIRB has revealed the number of proposed residential real estate investments it has approved.
Top 10 Countries by Value of Approved Residential Real Estate Proposals
67% rise in investment from Mainland China
Mr Ho reiterated that the numbers, on an annual basis, are surprising.
“The annualised numbers are interesting if not definitive. They tell you what Chinese and other foreign real estate investment would look like if it continued unchanged for the rest of the year.
“Looking at the annualised numbers, approved Mainland Chinese investment in residential real estate is up a dramatic 67%.
“At the first-quarter rate, approved Hong Kong investment in residential real estate is up 33%.
However, of course annualised numbers are only estimating the trend.
“It is too soon to know how much seasonality plays in investment numbers since we don’t have a back series of quarterly data.”
Top 10 Countries by Growth in Annualised Approved Residential Real Estate Proposals
In terms of proposed investment in every sector of the economy – not just real estate – China is in third place at $1.7 billion.
The United States is first, with $11.5 billion while Canada ranks second with $6.5 billion.
