Login
iscover
A leading Marshall White real estate agent says Asian buyers are still eager to snap up property despite the cooler market.
Robert Ding, a sales executive with Melbourne-based luxury agent Marshall White, has noticed that vendors are becoming more willing to compromise in the current market.
“Properties are still selling and what is driving this is demand is outstripping supply. With interest rates as low as they are and with the recent drops, we are seeing a lot of tenants coming into the market to purchase,” Mr Ding said.
“Even so, price growth isn’t as rapid as last year. Chinese buyers see this as an opportunity to buy at a more affordable price in neighbourhoods that have seen rapid appreciation in recent years.”
Mr Ding said about 60 per cent of buyers at his inspections are Asian, either locals or overseas investors. He currently has a listing at 3 Compton Street in Canterbury with three interested Chinese buyers.
“In a buoyant market, it would sell for $2.5 to $3 million. They know this is a good time to buy in that area and [they] are interested in obtaining the property for about $2 million,” he said.
Foreigners buying property in Australia have been hit with significant surcharges from several states in recent months including NSW, Queensland and Victoria.
The latest edition of the Housing Industry Association’s Stamp Duty Watch report revealed that the purchase of a typical Melbourne unit by a foreign investor will incur almost $65,000 in stamp duty and fees.
[Related: Real estate veteran slams foreign buyer tax]
Newsletter
