Asian investors favour Aussie property

Data obtained from the recent iProperty.com Asia Property Market Sentiment Survey for the second half of 2015 revealed that Australia is the first choice for Singaporean and Malaysian international property buyers, while Indonesians list it second after Singapore, and Hong Kong residents list it third after mainland China and Japan.

REA Group, parent company of iProperty.com, noted that data from the Foreign Review Investment Board supports these findings.

“In their FY14 Annual Report, it was revealed that Malaysia and Singapore were the fourth and fifth largest source countries for approved Australian property investment, after China, the US and Canada. Hong Kong is also among the top 10 countries at number eight,” the group noted.

Georg Chmiel, CEO of the iProperty Group, said that there were a range of factors driving interest in the Australian property market.

“The main reason Singaporeans and Malaysians are interested to invest in properties in Australia more than any other country is their perception that it is a very good investment compared to other countries,” he said.

He pointed to the survey findings, which also revealed that private condominiums or serviced apartments, followed by terraced houses, are the most sought-after property types in Australia from these buyers.

[Related: More Chinese borrowers seeking non-banks]