Mainland Chinese investment in Australian real estate surged by 16% according to the latest data from the governmental Foreign Investment Review Board.

Chinese invested AU$7.1 billion in Australian residential and commercial real estate in the year 2019-20, up from $6.1 billion a year earlier. Including Hong Kong, Chinese investment totalled $9.5 billion.

“Australia depends on foreign investment more than most countries,” said Juwai IQI Group Co-Founder and Executive Chairman Georg Chmiel. “Foreign investment flows average about 3.3% of Australian GDP, compared to 1.5% for countries in the G20. Of course, this dependence is especially great in the real estate sector because of the high investment required.

“Amid the global gloom of 2020, Australia did relatively well. Investment into Australia declined by only slightly more than total global cross-border investment.

Chmiel said that foreign investment into Australian residential real estate jumped by 15.5% to $17.1 billion. That is a surprising increase, given the difficult global environment in the first half of 2020.

Read more: RETALK ASIA

Source: RETALK ASIA