Chinese home buyers in Australia in decline

The Australian

Visits from property seekers based in China declined sharply in the first four months of this year, data from REA Group shows, confirming a slowdown of Chinese buying in Australia due to concerns about lending restrictions and tax changes. sther Yong, director of Melbourne-based ACproperty.com.au, is having mixed responses from her clients Ñ most of them _Chinese. Demand was still strong for those who were not buying for investment but for long-term plans to move to Australia, such as _migration or education for kids, she said. ÒThese type of buyers generally just want to beat the tax increase before July 1, and they are also worried that there will be more changes to the policy in the future, so would rather commit sooner.Ó