Chinese investors Òwant landÓ: townhouses trump apartments in Chinese buyer demand

The Daily Telegraph

APARTMENTS in Australia have long been the go-to choice for overseas Chinese homebuyers but itÕs the townhouses now that are winning the popularity contest. According to ACproperty.com.au, a Chinese-language Australian property portal, search inquiries for apartments dropped 20 per cent from 2014 to 2015, while inquiries for townhouses jumped by 30 per cent. Esther Yong, director of ACproperty.com.au, said it was the idea of owning land that appealed to Chinese buyers. ÒOwning land has always been the Chinese dream,Ó she said. She also attributed the demand for townhouses to the lack of this property type in major cities in China, while apartments had been Òvery well-marketed in ChinaÓ over the last couple of years. ÒFewer townhouses are marketed in China because there is a stock limitation, hence [the] high demand [reflected] in searches,Ó she said…