Overseas/Foreign Investors in Australia's property market

ARPP promotes and supports overseas property investment in Australian property, including single investors and property syndicates looking for the security of property in Australia. Property investment strategy concentrates on the capital cities Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

The Australian Government's approach to foreign investment policy is generally to encourage foreign investment in Australian property, business and industry

ARPP offers support on all aspects relating to taxation issues and foreign investment in conjunction with one of Australia's largest accounting companies, Price Waterhouse Coopers.

Professional property managers appointed by ARPP will service our clients needs to achieve the lowest vacancy rate, provide quality tenants and offer strict management procedures and reporting to overseas clients on a regular basis.

Foreign property buyers in Australia come under the guidelines of the Australian Governments "Foreign Investment Review Board."

For further information on Government policy click here.

Foreign Investor Overview

There are many reasons a foreign buyer may want to buy a residential property in Australia: for steady rental income and a sound investment; for accommodation during children's education; for a future home; to take advantage of favourable exchange rates; to diversify risk into a safe haven and for holiday use amongst others.

Following are some examples in which foreign Investors may purchase FIRB approved property:-

New Property not Previously Occupied.
Residential Land, Providing a Home is Built Within 12 Months.
House and land packages.
Off the plan apartments.
However, no development may sell more than 50 percent of the total to foreign interests. This has the benefit of protecting all buyers, as it means that ALL residential projects MUST SELL AT LEAST 50 PER CENT OF THE APARTMENTS TO AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTS. Projects can not be sold out only to overseas buyers, which means any project has to be popular in Australia to succeed.

Foreign investors can not buy, generally, old properties. Upon resale, properties therefore can not be resold to another foreign buyer.

Historical capital growth in the major Australian cities has averaged aproximately 10% per annum each year, with rental income usually between 5-8% of the price.

Rental occupancy rates are traditionally over 95%, and most properties are Freehold.

If you are planning to buy an apartment, your legal representative will need to make a Strata Records Inspection. This will outline how much the levies are at the time of purchase. Such an inspection will also tell you the rules governing use of common facilities.

ARPP'S Step by Step Process

After many years of experience assisting foreign investors in Australia, ARPP has put together a sequence of information packs and action steps to better enable foreigners to make well informed decisions regarding investment in Australian property.

ARPP has a recommended panel of Australian lawyers and finance specialists to select from. These professionals have many years of experience in dealing with the needs of foreign investors. They are able to offer independent advice on all finance and contractual matters to do with the purchasing of property in Australia by foreigners.

Request Free Information Pack

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