Buying property in australia as a foreigner

Photo credit: 8LettersUK

In recent days, the ownership of Australian property by foreigners is becoming a heated debate. This heated debate comes from a variety of different reasons. One of the main reasons that have gotten the blood boiling of the Australian people is the property prices being driven up in Australia’s larger cities and capital cities where foreign business is headquartered. Is this disdain for foreign investors and companies well founded or just smoke and mirrors?

Getting Started

When a person wants to purchase property in Australia there is an application process. The person regardless of whether they have a short-term visa or long-term have to adhere to this process. The application to purchase property needs to be sent in to the Foreign Investment Review Board. The review board then goes over the application for approval or denial of what can be bought. This process takes around 1 month to be completed. This board has trouble enforcing some of the rules but their main purpose is to make sure that the land being bought has a benefit to the community around it.

Investment For Individuals Shot Down

If the FIRB finds that the person trying to buy property is only looking to rent out the property then the application can and will be denied. However, if the person is looking to improve or renovate an already existing structure to bring more money into the area then the board will make another decision as this benefits the community around the purchase.

Are Foreigners Really Hurting The Market?

Often times, numbers can be skewed and there can be a variety of factors at play. A lot of the heated discussions have to do with the Chinese coming in and purchasing large amounts of commercial and residential property. Amanda Lynch states that the foreign investment should happen and needs to happen being quoted saying, “The objective of Australia’s foreign investment policy, as it applies to residential property, is to increase the supply of new housing.”

Why People Are Investing

People are investing in Australia for a variety of different reasons. The Chinese tend to invest because the Australian dollar has a good exchange rate for the Chinese and having offshore investments is a smart idea especially with the instability in China. Australia could become one of the business and consulting hotspots much like London did with all of the Eastern money that came in via commercial and residential real estate.

Investing in Australian real estate and property is a great idea and having a company that can support a mortgage is important. Newcastle Permanent offers home loans online that could be the loan you need to get your first home in Australia.