The Australian property market may yet see good investment opportunities in 2011, as some Asian investors have remained undeterred by some of the country’s foreign property ownership restrictions.
Buyers from Singapore, Malaysia and China are continuing to lead demand in the Australian property market, especially in major cities like Sydney and Melbourne.
Mr. Julian Sedgwick, senior associate director for international residential sales at property agency Savills, said the firm received around 800 enquiries over a recent weekend for two or three property launches in Sydney.
“We sold about 25 percent of the units from one such property and as many as 10 percent to 15 percent of the buyers are Asian,” said Mr. Sedgwick.
Sydney and Melbourne are now recording high property prices, with one-room units in Sydney’s inner-city currently going for up to A$750,000 (S$984,000), and many analysts expect market focus to move to other cities where prices and demand are lower.
Several market watchers expect property prices to increase by as much as 8 percent in 2012. They have also predicted that properties in the CBD could see 6 percent to 7 percent on returns, while suburban houses could see a 5 percent rental return.