Lankans buy more property in Australia than Aussies do in SL
It’s true. Sri Lankans invest 20 times more in Australia than Australians do in Sri Lanka. Latest research shows that over the past three to four years, locals bought more than 100 properties in Australia whereas only five Australians bought properties here.
Navin De Silva, Managing Director Grit Property Group, the property investment experts in Australia told the Business Times that many locals have bought properties through them in Melbourne.
He added that the company, which has expanded its real estate investment offerings to key overseas properties in the UK, USA, Canada, Europe, Thailand and Malaysia giving its investors many options to choose from has seen that these countries have been reporting the fastest economic growth on average for the past five years with steep increases in residential prices and rents in recent years.
A house in Australia will cost around AUS$ 400,000 to AUS$600,000, he said. He noted that for Sri Lankans, buying an Australian property adds diversity to their portfolio and the currency exchange rate can be used to benefit your situation. “The property itself can be used as a part-time residence or holiday home with the added benefit of utilising the property while increasing in value, rental return and wealth,” he added. However, property analysts say that it is important to keep in mind that fluctuations in a foreign currency may also represent a risk.
Analysts also note that foreigners can’t own land although there are more than a few ways to acquire property and many foreigners have done so. They say that Sri Lanka is cheap but when compared to Bali, Singapore and Sydney, prices are going up rapidly. But it’s still attractive as building costs are still a tenth of prices in Sydney, they added. An analyst said that in Australia, where Melbourne is among the world’s most habitable cities, more than 30 per cent resident foreigners are willing to pay more than Rs. 5 million to buy property.
The world is more connected than ever. Cross border transactions and investments in international property continue to be on the rise. “Global property marketing has become a requirement to ensure the properties reach their potential when sold. This is due to the fact that the demographic growth of these countries is largely based on a positive migration pattern, which has followed an upward trend in the recent years and is expected to continue until 2030,” Mr. de Silva added.
He said that their new expan- sion into international markets represented a “one-stop” experience to home buyers, encompassing other strands of the business covering key areas such as the arrangement of 60 - 70 per cent funding for non-residents, 5 - 8 per cent guaranteed rental returns and taking care of all end-to-end services. He added, “We are a company with extensive investment and asset management expertise, backed by strong research focus and collective experience. We bring you cutting edge professional advisory services on mortgage finance, real estate investment with focus on equity returns and efficient asset management, which helps you develop your real estate portfolio.”