Chinese-based buyers have spent a total of $5.4 billion on Australian residential property in 2013 alone, according to a Chinese property portal.

This is a 25% increase from 2011 when Chinese buyers purchased $4 billion worth of Australian property.

Co-CEO of the property portal, Simon Henry, explained that the Chinese are the fastest-growing buyer group in Australia, which is currently in the midst of a slow real estate market.

Properties that are of the most interest to Chinese buyers are major metropolitan areas, working farms, growing mining areas or new developments. Furthermore, Chinese buyers who are already familiar with Australia are also interested in resale properties, according to Henry.

Dominic Ong is the head of the Knight Frank team, which targets high-net worth Chinese investors and non-Australians who could potentially qualify for the $5 million significant investor visa. He stated that he has been regularly showing some of the most expensive property in Sydney to Asian-based buyers. Many of his clients are looking in the $30-50 million price range.

Ong explained that his clients want waterfront properties with a swimming pool, harbour bridge view, private jetty and car perks, so they can entertain and use the space for private functions.

Another hotspot for Chinese residential investment is Queensland. Chinese buys now make up the largest foreign property buying group in the state, according to the Foreign Ownership of Land Register.

The property portal reports that the Chinese purchased upwards of $530 million of Queensland property in the last three years, and are now second only to Australians in owning Queensland real estate. Their rate of acquisition is up almost 60% year-on-year.

One real estate agent, Dominique Corbett, said that clients with properties valued between $6 million to $15 million increasingly ask her to list the properties on the property portal. She explained that vendors believe that Australians currently don’t have the money for these properties, while Chinese do.

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