vikaryan wrote on Mar 3^rd, 2015 at 7:22pm:

 

>Good thing too, no offence but it is getting a bit tired that every auction and off the plan apartments are all snapped up by the Chinese, stricter laws and enforcement is needed here.

>totally agree, we need some form of regulation to stop overseas investors purchasing all Sydney property and driving the cost of property. Limited on 1 property should be implement for non-citizens, stopping local hard-working families getting housing or at least in the Sydney market... 

>Mr Hockey: Please create a property rent DEEMING TAX! Overseas investors who buy houses then LEAVE THEM EMPTY so as not to worry about having to deal with our TAXATION DEPARTMENT are adding to the housing shortage. They should be TAXED on the deemed rental income; ZERO deductions! No 'wear and tear', or anything else. An overseas gentleman recently bought THIRTY NINE houses in one day from the agent that sold my Sister & Brother-in-Law's house in Wheelers Hill. The buyer did not enter any of the properties; he just wanted to get his money out of his home country.

>Housing has a trickle down effect. When the upper end of the housing market pushes out Australians they invest in the middle market. That has a domino effect by increasing the prices of middle market houses. The middle market then has to downgrade to working class areas, which once again pushes up the price. Look at the boom of West Sydney!

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/treasurer-joe-hockey-is-forcing-chinese-investor-to-sell-40-million-sydney-mansion/story-fni0cx4q-1227246614447

The spectacular house in Sydney’s exclusive Point Piper was sold last October by Julia Ross, an Australian entrepreneur who made her fortunes in recruitment and has moved to London. The deal set a record in Australia for a non-waterfront home.

But the property was reportedly purchased illegally by Mr Xu via a network of companies based in Australia, Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands.

The forced sale follows growing concerns about Australia’s surging property market and the impact of foreign buyers, particularly from China.

Australia’s foreign investment review board, which oversees foreign investment, said it approached the owner of the house several times and gave the buyer the chance to show the sale was lawful.

“The rules are straightforward,” Brian Wilson, the board’s chairman, told the Financial Review.

“It’s an existing property you have to be either a resident, or a citizen or a temporary resident. You can’t be a foreign investor ... These things aren’t done as a knee-jerk reaction.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/11446364/Australia-gives-Chinese-billionaire-90-days-to-sell-20-million-Sydney-mansion.html

Lisa Jones wrote on Mar 4^th, 2015 at 9:37am:


Thanks Lisa

 

>Did our government really believe that the cashed up Chinese would ever play by the rules?  Dream on. They should not be able to come here and outprice our people on property. Try buying land in Hong Kong or China. You'll be kicked out immediately. The way things are going, our kids won't be able to afford any sort of home at all other than renting one......... from an Asian landlord.

>Good on Joe. We've been treated like mugs for a long while now. No foreigner should be allowed to own Australian real estate of any description.

>Time to put a stop to non citizens purchasing properties - off the plan included.

>Well done Joe Hockey. The Chinese man obtained this property deceptively. I hope this is the first of many.

>It's time to introduce blanket bans on all foreign residential ownership. To be able to purchase any Australian residential property, you should have to show proof of CITIZENSHIP (not just residence) and with a minimum of 10 years citizenship. I realise there are plenty of wealthy foreigners who want to live in Australia. And they are welcome. They can rent from Australian citizens who own the property. Try and go the China or Dubai and buy a property as a foreigner... just see how far you get!

>About bloody time...I wanted to stand and cheer (complete with fist pump) No-one (not even rabid Lefties) can knock this decision.... Like Abbott said..."For way too long, we have been getting treated like mugs"  and it's about time that we drew the line in the sand. It's unfathomable that prior to this decision that the FIRB has never been involved in a single prosecution. Even in this situation...it wasn't the Board finally earning their money but it sounds like they had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the table after Hockey's direct intervention. We can only hope that this is the start...and that the Australian taxpayer may see this "Stop treating us like mugs" philosophy extend to other areas. Kudos to you Hockey on this one.

>The reality is this is happening with hundreds of homes every week at auctions all across Australia with homes in 800K to 2 million range, but they simply aren't investigated because they aren't as high profile as a $40 million harbour mansion. The official numbers being reported for foreign buyers is a fraction of the real number, because they are bought through shell companies and trusts like this. It's just that most are buying up large numbers of moderately priced homes, instead of $40 million homes. And as for foreign byers not being allowed to by existing real estate, ha! It's happening at every second auction.

>Oh the irony, there is no benefit in selling existing property to overseas investors, the only benefit is new property as it increases housing supply and provides construction jobs. Overseas investors are free to invest in businesses. If existing property rules where not in place in theory you could have entire suburbs of foreign nationals who pax no tax not contributing to the services and roads/ trains in that suburb with the taxpayer funding the bill.

>Finally some actions on these unfaithful foreign investors. For long locals have problem buying properties because these foreign investors who can't even speak English just show up in Auction and buy the house. It's ridiculous that people who have right to stay in Australia can't afford a place to live yet people who don't have the right to stay here keep illegally buying the house and drive the price up.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/foreign-investment-crackdown-chinese-billionaire-hui-ka-yans-purchase-of-point-piper-mansion-is-illegal/story-fni0cx12-1227247018678

Australia’s new foreign investment laws feared to drive away Chinese home buyers

With foreign investment laws in Australia set for a mighty shake-up, the flood of Chinese investment into Australia’s leafy green suburban real estate could soon slow to a trickle.

That’s the fear of local property agents who say recent changes flagged by the Australian government could scare Asian buyers away.

Under the new guidelines announced by the government last week, overseas investors will be required to pay a minimum 3,900 US dollar application fee for residential properties which sell for less than one million Australian dollars (785,000 US dollars).

More expensive properties will command fees of 7,800 US dollars for every extra million dollars in the purchase price. So, for example, a property worth five million dollars (3.925 million US dollars) would attract fees of 35,100 US dollars.

The government has introduced the move in reaction to growing dissatisfaction among local property owners and buyers, who claim they’re being outbid by foreign investors

, sometimes by tens of thousands above the asking price and sometimes before an auction is even carried out.

Chinese investment in Australian real estate has almost doubled in the past five years. Juwai.com said Chinese buyers spent 5.3 billion US dollars on Australian residential property in 2013, up from 4.2 billion US dollars in 2012, which in turn was up from 2.4 billion US dollars recorded in 2009-10.

The company estimated that 63 million Chinese people had enough wealth to secure overseas property, almost three times the Australian population, and Australia was one of the top destinations for those looking to invest.

http://borneobulletin.com.bn/australias-new-foreign-investment-laws-feared-drive-away-chinese-home-buyers/

Treasurer Joe Hockey yesterday gave Golden Fast Food Pty 90 days to sell the Point Piper mansion or face having it repossessed by the Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions.

The company claimed it was unaware of Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) rules on foreign ownership.

It is understood that agents for the sale, from Christie’s International and LJ Hooker Double Bay, have been interviewed by Treasury investigators. The agents have defended the sale, claiming they believed it was an Australian company they were dealing with.

Golden Fast Food gives its principal address of business as an office building in Chatswood, with none of its directors being Mr Hui.

They are, instead, a Sydney accountant and two individuals based in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

Golden Fast Food’s owner is a company registered at the same Chatswood address called Egality Investment, which was also registered on October 21 last year. Its owner is listed as Hong Kong’s Jiaying Holdings.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/chinese-billionaire-hui-ka-yan-illegally-buys-point-piper-mansion-villa-del-mare/story-fnii5s3z-1227247853985

Quote:


Could be Ham Hogs next career, repossession and forced sales of real estate. Good to see poor performers exploring their options.