Add Category
The majority of apartment sales to foreign investors were for less than $1 million. Picture: Thinkstock. Source: ThinkStock
TOUGHER restrictions on foreign investment has done little to halt sales to overseas buyers.
The latest NAB Quarterly Australian Residential Property Survey found while foreign buyers were less active in new property markets, they had increased their presence in established markets, especially in Victoria.
The percentage of foreign buyers in the new property market dropped from 15.6 per cent to 12.8 per cent in the past quarter. COULD THIS LEAD TO PRICE DROPS?
HOME BUYERS TAKE A BREATHER
But NAB Group chief economist Alan Oster said in the existing property market the number of foreign buyers had increased to 8.6 per cent from 7.5 per cent at the start of the year.
He said foreign buyers accounted for more than one in ten sales in both Victoria and NSW.
Units were more appealing to foreign buyers, accounting for 16.1 per cent of all apartment sales nationally in the second quarter of the year.
Foreign buyers were behind 28 per cent of all new apartment purchases in Victoria and 16.5 per cent in New South Wales.
NAB group chief economist Alan Oster says foreign investors are buying more existing properties. Source: News Limited
In Queensland they accounted for 13.1 per cent of sales and in Western Australia 12.9 per cent.
More than three quarters of foreign investors bought apartments valued at less than $1 million, with 41 per cent of those below $500,000.
More than 16 per cent of all apartment sales were in the $1 million to $2 million price range, although it was a much higher percentage in New South Wales where they were responsible for one in four purchases at that price and almost 12 per cent for more than $2 million.
The survey gauges the sentiment and gathers feedback from property industry professionals on the current market.
Mr Oster said in the market in general sentiment had improved in Victoria and remained solid in New South Wales.
It fell in all other states and quite heavily in South Australia and Western Australia.
Expectations for national house price growth over the next one to two years were unchanged at 2.1 per cent and 2.3 per cent.