Overseas Property Professional (OPP): January 4, 2012
Chinese developers continue to invest heavily in the Australian international homes market, spending at least AUD $7.5 billion on new residential development sites in the country in the past two to three years.
Asian buyers are “vital” to the success of future residential developments and developers must engage with them, says Morry Schwartz, head of Melbourne-based property developer Pan Urban.
Schwartz believes that buyers from other Asian economies such as Malaysia and Indonesia are also joining with their colleagues in China in viewing Australia as a safe haven for long-term overseas property investments.
“Sometimes Chinese people who are living in Malaysia or Indonesia feel slightly insecure about buying where they live because there may be anti-Chinese sentiment in those countries,” he says.
Australian agents are also finding wealthy Chinese buyers worry about the stability of the property market at home in mainland China. They remain keen on cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Vancouver, New York and London where their children can also go to study and learn the English language.
Schwartz can see more transactions starting online in China too in the coming years. It is a question of bringing the overheads down when trying to find buyers in China. “Agents have to travel to China for property expos, hire Mandarin-speaking staff or to split their commissions with Chinese agents — none of which is affordable in this marketplace,” argues Schwartz.
Taken as a group, local and offshore Asian buyers currently account for about 60% of enquiries and purchases at Pan Urban's developments – “up substantially from a few years ago,” Schwartz says.
Schwartz says one- and two-bedroom apartments appeal to Asian buyers because they are more affordable.
“They like urban and inner-city apartments and also buy in areas such as Doncaster and Springvale where local Chinese communities are based,” he says. And Australian developers and agents are gaining a stronger understanding of the Chinese markets.
“There is a moving together from two directions. You are not doing a good job at selling real estate in Australia today if you're not marketing to the Chinese buyer,” he believes.
