NAB: Foreign buyers of new properties double

Not much of a surprise: NAB reports than foreign property buyers now account for 12-13% of new house and apartment property sales in Australia

This figure is up from just 5-6% in 2011.

Source: NAB

Expect this trend to develop as Chinese investors seek Australian real estate in which to park their capital, particularly as the Australian dollar falls.

Asian capital will be a growing force in Australian real estate during this decade.

This may be stating the obvious, but foreign buyers do not invest in rural Victoria, outer suburbs in South Australia or in distant regional centres.

Instead, Chinese investors tend to buy new off-the-plan apartments in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and these are the places which will benefit most from the flow of foreign capital.

Reports Property Observer:

Asian investors (mainly Chinese) have been driving this trend according to the latest data from the Foreign Investment Review Board, says NAB chief economist Alan Oster.

“A number of factors are driving Chinese investment into Australian property, including initiatives to curb real estate speculation in China, diversification for Chinese property investors and immigration potential."

In reality, there are probably foreign buyers on non-new properties in the market too. Strictly speaking there should not be, but it's doubtful whether the rules are policed stringently.

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On the subject of China, GDP result later today...watch this space...