FIRB fees fail to deter Chinese property buyers

Higher federal government fees and tougher penalties for breaches of foreign investment rules that started December 1 have not deterred foreign investors in the property market. If deals were completed before Tuesday, foreign buyers would not have to fork out the new foreign investment application fee of $5,000 for a home under $1 million or $10,000 for homes over $1 million as mandated by the Foreign Investment Review Board. “We don’t think there will be a slowdown in the market because of FIRB, if anything, it should give buyers more confidence in the Australian market,” said Chinese property website ACproperty.com.au’s director Esther Yong. “The Chinese thinks this way, “If I need to pay for it, it must be good”.” The biggest foreign property buyers are the Chinese followed by a distant second, the US, according to the FIRB…