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SYDNEY (Reuters) – Juwai.com's latest research shows that Australian homebuyers' demand for information rose for a second straight quarter, revealing a possible recovery in demand for the besieged housing market of Pacific from a core investor base.
Chinese inquiries jumped 40 percent in the first quarter, after a 54 percent gain in three months, the first consecutive increase since 2016, according to Juwai.com, China's largest international real estate website.
"Recent quarters of slow recovery could pave the way at the end of the tunnel for Chinese real estate investments in Australia," Juwai.com said.
"We are not there yet, but the trend of the last fifteen months suggests that Chinese purchases will return to more substantial levels."
Policymakers worry about the continuing weakness of the country's economy, which is already in trouble. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) this month, the collection rate has been reduced to a record 1%, as it seems to boost growth and inflation.
The Chinese have been the largest purchasers of Australian goods for several years, but Beijing's capital controls and the higher taxes imposed on foreigners in the two largest markets, Sydney and Melbourne, have deterred investors.
Housing prices in Australia have fallen every month since the end of 2017, but they showed tentative signs of stabilization in June, while Sydney and Melbourne improved slightly.
"The poor performance of Australian real estate prices is a disincentive for Chinese investors," Juwai.com said.
"Our main argument is that Chinese purchases will be stable this year. However, we must accept that if the downward spiral of the market accelerates, the buying levels of Chinese buyers may fall in 2019 compared to 2018.
Although price declines have slowed in Australia, home values are still down about 8% and are back to levels seen in mid-2016.
According to Juwai.com, factors that could boost Chinese investment include easing capital controls in China, lowering the Australian dollar, and stabilizing Australian home prices.
A weaker Australian dollar – down about 11% from the Chinese yuan since last July – helped offset the impact of rising state taxes, Juwai.com CEO and director Carrie Law says.
A buyer who now owns a yuan needs $ 88,800 compared to 2017 to buy a $ 800,000 home, she said.
Melbourne is the most popular Australian city for Chinese shopping requests.
(Report by Swati Pandey, edited by Shri Navaratnam)
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