Sir lastnail wrote on Mar 2
nd, 2011 at 10:46pm:
Lisa Jones wrote on Mar 2
nd, 2011 at 8:21pm:
Here is the article ..
Foreigners grab prime real estate in Sydney - 17 Nov 2010
SYDNEY'S famous Harbour vista is driving an unprecedented international land grab as overseas buyers snap up premium homes and office buildings across the city.
A surge of money from Asia, along with traditional European investors, is driving demand in the CBD, North Shore and Eastern Suburbs, cementing Sydney as the fourth most popular city for international investment on Earth.
Major real estate firms are cashing in on the trend, promoting Australian properties in Asian hubs like Hong Kong and Singapore, luring cashed up investors with promises of safe, secure growth opportunities.
The most recent figures from the Federal Government's Foreign Investment Review Board, collected during the worst of the global financial crisis in 2008-09, reveal foreigners picked up $23.4 billion in Australian real estate assets including 3639 new and existing homes, and 988 parcels of land.
"We see a lot of interest from Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and the UK," Real Estate Buyers Association of Australia president Byron Rose said.
"They know the market is depressed - they are making huge capital gains and are reinvesting into the market."
Major real estate firms are also lining up to take advantage of the trend, with one of the world's largest, CB Richard Ellis, last month staging a property expo in Hong Kong promoting a range of residential, commercial and retail opportunities in Australia.
On display were the WorkCover NSW head office in Gosford, apartment buildings in Brighton-Le-Sands, Chippendale and Bondi Junction, commercial offices in Dee Why and the CBD, as well as retail stores.
CBRE senior managing director of international investments Rick Butler blamed Australian banks for the situation. "The banks are saying they are lending but in my view they aren't," Mr Butler said. "When we offer a major office building we are finding the top two offers are usually from a foreign buyer.
"The foreigners are there because they see Australia as safe, secure and actually having growth, which puts us in a much better position than old Europe and the US."
International property investment expert Professor Graeme Newell, of the University of Western Sydney, said the investment surge was also being driven by Asian pension funds.
on the other hand the same real estate parasites are bitching about how first homes buyers have been priced out of the market
how does it feel to be a second rate citizen in your own country having payed rip off taxes all of your life ??
I'm glad I found that news article Last Nail. It's only a few months old too and it captures many of the issues I've been TRYING to make others aware of. Up til now, as you know, I've been posting from a real life personal prospective purchaser perspective.
Good for others to see wtf has been happening in real estate here in Sydney.
Read back and see what I've been saying .. it's been hell for Aussies in the domestic real estate market over the last few years. We've been expected to compete against people who have access to interest rates at 1/3 - 1/2 the rates we can access.
Bottom line? They have been able to secure more funds ----> they CAN and HAVE been buying up prime real estate.
What's left for us Aussies? The real estate these people don't want.
It's hard enough (for someone who looks at real estate every day) .. trying to find a decent property at a decent price these days (most of what I see on the market is overpriced or just plain trash ) .. but when you do see something decent ..
you turn up in good faith with your building report only to find yourself competing against foreigners who are prepared to pay heaps more than what the property is really worth .. because they don't care .. they've obtained finance at 1/3 to 1/2 the interest rates you have.See the highlighted bit in my last paragraph?? THAT is what has been driving prices UP!
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