Foreign buys fall

PURCHASE of residential property by foreign buyers, particularly from China, has eased over the past year because of tighter capital controls by Beijing and limited access to local finance, says a central bank official.

Reserve Bank of Australia head of financial stability Jonathan Kearns said foreign buyers accounted for about 5 per cent of total housing sales in Australia, including between 10 and 15 per cent of new construction, and about 25 per cent of newly built apartments.

About three-quarters of the foreign buyers came from China, he told an AustraliaChina property conference yesterday. “Purchases of new properties by foreign buyers have eased over the past year, reportedly because of stricter enforcement of Chinese capital controls and tighter access to finance for foreign buyers,” Mr Kearns said.