SYDNEY, March 28 (Xinhua) -- A report on the housing markets in two major Australian cities of Sydney and Melbourne has revealed that foreign investors are investing over 8 billion Australian dollars (6.09 billion U.S. dollars) per year into the sector.
The Credit Suisse report, released on Friday, said that the 8 billion dollar figure is indicative of 25 percent of new housing made available in New South Wales, and 16 percent of new housing in Victoria over the past year.
The authors of the report, Credit Suisse analysts Hasan Tevfik and Peter Liu, made clear that when they mention foreign buyers, they really have one particular nation in mind.
"When we talk about foreign buyers we are really talking about Chinese buyers. The Chinese have accounted for almost 80 percent of foreign demand in NSW. The second biggest group, the Indonesians, account for just 1.7 percent of foreign demand," Tevfik and Liu said.
"The taxes collected imply foreigners are currently purchasing an annualised 4.9 billion dollars of New South Wales housing, and 3.1 billion dollars in Victoria."
Charles Pittar, chief executive officer of Juwai.com, told Xinhua on Tuesday that the report clearly indicates that any negative sentiment about foreign buyers should now be quashed.
Pittar went on to explain his sentiment that the data within the report does not take into account when the transactions were begun, rather only when they were closed, which could lead to misinterpreted data sets.
"The scale of the construction boom in Australian cities proves the power of foreign investment to provide new housing for local buyers. It's no coincidence that the construction boom was simultaneous with the surge in Chinese buying," Pittar said.
"Chinese are more likely to buy new property in the preconstruction phase, giving developers the commitments and they need to start construction and offer the remaining completed units to local buyers."
Furthermore, the Credit Suisse report stressed that Australia should "expect more, not less, Chinese demand for Aussie housing," with the influx of foreign capital serving as a buttress against any likely downturn in the property market.
"The severity, and pace of the slowdown (in the Australian market) will be cushioned by Chinese demand." Tevfik and Liu said.
