The rumours of the death of the Australian property market bubble have been greatly exaggerated
Up until now at least
Looks like a major sector of support for property prices is diminishing, though
This via the Australian Financial Review:
- Chinese purchases of Australian property have dropped significantly in the past month
- Buyers struggle to shift money out of the country following Beijing's move to tighten capital controls
- One Chinese agent said the latest efforts by the central government to avoid large capital outflows were having a "significant impact" on his business
- "It has affected 70 to 80 per cent of current transactions and some have already been suspended," said the agent who asked not to be named
- The tighter foreign exchange rules are also set to impact the federal government's relaunched Significant Investor Visa (SIV), which provides fast-tracked residency for those investing at least $5 million into Australia
- "I think it will be big, big trouble for the SIV program because the amount of money is just too large," said one Shanghai-based adviser, who sells Australian property and advises wealthy clients on their migration plans
- Only seven SIV applications have been submitted since the new rules were introduced on July 1, which require investors to put their money into riskier assets such as venture capital and emerging companies
Oz property price bubble ... coming to an end?
Yes, no, M'eh? Thoughts welcome in the comments please ladies and gentlemen!