Indian interest in Australian homes skyrockets in just one year | PropTrack Overseas Search Report

A new global powerhouse has entered the foreign investment market in Australia. As China leaves, they are moving in.

The three-bedroom apartment at 20/12 Collins Way in Melbourne CBD — the nation’s most searched location from prospective offshore tenants and buyers — is listed for sale with $835,000-$875,000 price hopes.

Indian interest in Aussie residential property has surged by nearly a quarter in just one year.

PropTrack’s latest Overseas Search Report revealed searches for Australian homes to buy and rent from India had increased by 23 per cent in October compared to the same time last year.

Our major cricketing rivals were mainly after residences priced around $600,000 in new development suburbs like Tarneit and Point Cook in Victoria and rentals for about $500 a week.

Searches from the UK were also up for buying and renting, and Hong Kong searches for properties to rent increased by 4 per cent.

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This comes after Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) data showed 550 property transactions were approved for Indian investors in the 2023-2024 financial year, worth a combined sum close to $400m of the $6.6bn spent by offshore buyers on Aussie homes.

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Source: PropTrack

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PropTrack senior analyst Karen Dellow said in the last Census, India was the second most common birth country who weren’t born in Australia, so it wasn’t surprising searches from India were high and continued to grow.

“Australia is popular option for those looking to make an international move. Our capital cities often rank highly on the annual lists of most liveable cities,” Ms Dellow said.

“Location is more of a factor than the actual properties, with searchers from specific countries favouring suburbs with a large diaspora.”

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This four-bedroom house at 6 Victorking Drive, Point Cook is listed for sale with $700,000-$750,000 price hopes.

Point Cook is one of the most searched suburbs by prospective Indian buyers and renters overseas.

Melbourne city, Brighton and South Yarra were the top locations offshore buyers and tenants were considering.

Searches from the United Kingdom for abodes to buy and rent had also increased by 5 per cent and 6.1 per cent, respectively.

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Kiwi interest dropped off the most of any country in October, plummeting by 13 per cent for homes for sale and 10.3 per cent for residences to rent.

Ms Dellow said searches from China, America and New Zealand had increased over the long term but fluctuated a lot throughout the year.

“Searches from China for rental properties fluctuate the most as they are heavily influenced by the influx of students at the start of the university and school terms,” she said.

Source: PropTrack

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“The change to student enrolment caps will have an impact on searches from overseas, especially for properties to rent. Access to working visas will also have an impact on search traffic.”

Rental Search Australia co-founder Jade Costello said many of her clientele were from overseas and had especially coming from India in the past month.

Ms Costello said this was their busiest time of year for international expats to move to Australia because many were looking to start new roles before the beginning of the school term next year.

This four-bedroom house at 8 Selwyn St, Brighton is listed for sale with a $4.1m-$4.5m price guide.

Brighton is 10th most searched location for overseas property seekers looking to buyer or rent nationwide and third in Victoria.

“(Interest) is really varied. It really ranges from executives all the way down to people looking for studio apartments who are doing fellowships at universities and hospitals,” she said.

Kent Relocation Services global mobility team lead Vanna Lim said she was moving many international in the corporate world to Sydney and Melbourne, but housing conditions remained challenging.

Ms Lim said internationals without any Australian rental history had a tougher time finding a rental and usually had to submit multiple applications although they eventually found a home.

“We don’t see prices going down anytime soon. We don’t really see a lot of being able to negotiate, unless that is maybe offering a little bit more,” she said.

“It’s still very much a landlords’ market.”

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Originally published as Indian interest in Australian homes skyrockets in just one year | PropTrack Overseas Search Report